General chemistry students need to understand the concept of intermolecular forces and use them to predict the properties of materials. To do this, they must create symbolic representations of molecules, relate these to physical observations, and explain them using submicroscopic theoretical constructs. When these concepts are taught separately,…

The capstone design sequence provides chemical engineering students with the opportunity to demonstrate mastery in process engineering, acquired during their entire degree, and is the ultimate "reality check" in outcome verification. This paper describes the current status of the design sequence followed by chemical engineering students…

In the study, the correlations between visual mathematics literacy perceptions, reasoning skills on geometrical shapes and geometrical performances of pre-service mathematics teachers were investigated. The study participants included 384 pre-service mathematics teachers, who were attending education departments in two universities located in…

This study aimed at identifying the reasons responsible for the low performance of the students of the second intermediate grade in science's tests in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). It also intends to provide a proposal for developing the performance of the students of the second intermediate grade in science…

Cognitive diagnostic models can uncover students' mastery of multiple fine-grained skill attributes or problem-solving processes. A number of studies have applied cognitive diagnostic models to detect students' knowledge mastery in mathematics and language testing. However, few studies focus on cognitive diagnostic assessment in K-12 science…

Given the growing trend toward using technology to assess student learning, this investigation examined test mode comparability of student achievement scores obtained from paper-pencil and computerized assessments of statewide End-of-Course and End-of-Grade examinations in the subject areas of high school biology and eighth-grade English Language…

PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) is one of two large scale international comparative projects of student assessment that now exert considerable influence upon school science education policy, the other being TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study). This paper focuses on PISA, now the most influential…

To test the hypothesis that students who complete remote online tests experience an 'online grade penalty', we compared performance outcomes of second-year students who elected to complete exams online to those who completed face-to-face, paper-based tests in an organic chemistry course. We pursued the following research questions: (RQ1) Are there…

Using IEA's Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019 data, this brief explores the relationship between students' gender, their confidence and achievement in mathematics and science, and their aspirations to pursue careers in these fields. We find that more boys than girls at grade 8 want to have a mathematics- or…

Teaching physical science has been challenging for educators for quite some time, and with the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation has even worsened which made the adoption of blended learning in the different cycles of education only a matter of time. This paradigm requires nevertheless a certain command when it comes to using some specific tools…

Difficulty index and its derivative performance index (PFI) have been commonly used to measure student learning outcomes. However, these indexes have a high volatility and low sensitivity. This work has established the simplex learning index (SLI), which has a low volatility and high sensitivity. To construct SLI, students were divided into two…

This report provides an update on the state of the research on testing accommodations. Previous reports by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) have covered research published since 1999. In this report, we summarize the research published in 2019. During 2019, 11 research studies were published on the topic of testing accommodations…

This Statistics in Brief (SiB) uses data from the 2011 and 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and explores how achievement gaps between high- and low-performing 4th- and 8th-grade students in the U.S. and other education systems have changed over time. Achievement gaps are defined as the differences in scores…

Retrieval practice typically benefits later memory more than restudy (i.e., the testing effect). The benefits of retrieval-based learning generalize across a range of materials and contexts, leading many cognitive scientists to advocate for broad educational implementation. However, educators and practitioners call for more research on factors…

The Microbiology Concept Inventory is an assessment tool derived from the fundamental statements created by the American Society for Microbiology. This two-tier, multiple-choice question inventory requires students to choose the most correct answer for each question and provide a brief justification of their reasoning. Educators can utilize this…