The role of epistemic beliefs in science (EBS) and socio-economic status (SES) on mathematics and science test results on both student- and school-level data was investigated via a secondary analysis of Estonian Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 survey data. The effective sample comprised 3991 students (52% girls, 48%…

Students' problem-solving strategies and the differences among strategy groups were explored by analyzing the process data collected during student interactions with computer-based science items. Data were gathered from 1516 eleventh-grade students from 4 schools in China. Analyses of the sequences of students' response actions revealed that the…

Nearly all undergraduate biology courses rely on quizzes and exams. Despite their prevalence, very little work has been done to explore how the framing of assessment questions may influence student performance and affect. Here, we conduct a quasi-random experimental study where students in different sections of the same course were given…

Science scores among US fourth-grade students have declined compared to their international counterparts in recent years. Recent results show that teachers are the most impactful influence on student success and accountability. Teacher preparedness and professional development are two key areas that serve as indicators of providing relevant and…

One of the diagnostic tests which is very valuable and used in education frequently is two-tier test. Two-tier tests are used for different purposes such as determining misconceptions, determining the comprehension level of students and etc.. Due to the wide and effective uses of two-tier tests, there are different studies in which two-tier tests…

This paper examines whether parental engagement in early childhood and preschooling act as substitutes, or whether their joint effect enhances students' learning outcomes. We utilize the TIMSS 2019 dataset and employ a hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) approach to analyze data from 52 countries, ensuring a robust examination of cross-national…

In this study, we explored psychometric network analysis (PNA) as an alternative method for identifying item wording effects in self-report instruments. We examined the functioning of negatively worded items in the network structures of two math-related scales from the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS); Students…

This study aimed to develop a standardised instrument for diagnosing science misconceptions in primary school children. Following a developmental research approach using the 4-D model (Define, Design, Develop, Disseminate), 100 four-tier multiple choice items were constructed. Content validity was established through expert evaluation by six…

Environmental sustainability and how best to promote sustainable development is a problem of increasing urgency for policymakers and researchers. Several international projects have been initiated to address these issues and provide frameworks for thinking about the development of individuals' environmental awareness and their proclivities for…

So far, instruments to measure genetic literacy that encompass global genetic issues are limited. In addition, instruments that assess practical knowledge and comprehensively evaluate genetic literacy skills have yet to be developed. Therefore, this research aimed to develop, validate, and improve an instrument based on a new conceptual framework…

A distinctive aspect of science teaching is the use of various strategies to stimulate students' discovery-oriented curiosity. However, many instructional knowledge models overlook teaching methodology as a predictor of quality science instruction, as noted in the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge model. This study developed and tested a…

A novel approach is described using primary literature manuscripts for the final examination of an upper level undergraduate course in virology. This innovative technique was applied as an alternative to a core comprehensive final examination. A recent primary literature paper in virology was assigned several weeks before the end of the semester.…

Novel technology has been applied to improve students' learning abilities in different disciplines. The research in this field is still finding suitable methodologies, tools, and evaluation mechanisms to devise learning frameworks with high impact on students' performance. This article describes an instructional method to perform Newtonian physics…

Machine learning (ML) has been increasingly employed in science assessment to facilitate automatic scoring efforts, although with varying degrees of success (i.e., magnitudes of machine-human score agreements [MHAs]). Little work has empirically examined the factors that impact MHA disparities in this growing field, thus constraining the…

In this paper, we explored the scientific literacy of a general sample of the Slovak adult population and examined factors that might help or inhibit scientific reasoning, namely the content of the problems. In doing so, we also verified the assumption that when faced with real-life scientific problems, people do not necessarily apply…