An electronic newsletter for the science education community
May/June 2008
Assessment Team Shares Latest Findings
At two national education conferences this spring, Project 2061 researchers shared
what they are learning as they test science assessment items with middle school students
across the country. In presentations at the annual conferences of the National Science
Teachers Association (NSTA) and the National Association for Research in Science Teaching
(NARST), deputy director George DeBoer and his team of item developers reported on just
how valuable the students have been in providing information needed to improve test items
and to shed light on what middle school students know about the ideas in national science
standards.
The studies are all part of Project 2061’s effort to create an online collection of
high-quality middle school and early high school science assessment items that are closely
aligned with content standards. (Read an overview
of the assessment project.) Each assessment item is the result of a two-year development
cycle. Project 2061’s researchers clarify the target learning goals, review the research
literature on student learning, and design items that are content-aligned and that use
misconceptions as distractors. The researchers then pilot test each item, organize formal
evaluations by teams of external reviewers, and field test each item using a national
sample, revising items at each stage along the way.
The following papers and posters provide details about the methodology and findings
of Project 2061’s ongoing assessment item development. They also present findings from
in-depth studies of assessment items in the topics of atoms, molecules, and states of
matter; matter transformations in living systems; and interdependence in living systems.
2008 NSTA National Conference
Symposium:
"Assessment Linked to Middle School Science Learning Goals: Using Pilot
Testing in Item Development"
George E. DeBoer, Natalie Dubois, & Cari Herrmann Abell
Read the paper [PDF,
282KB].
2008 NARST
Annual Conference
Symposium:
"Assessment Linked to Middle School Science Learning Goals: Using Pilot
Testing in Item Development"
George E. DeBoer, Natalie Dubois, Cari Herrmann Abell, & Kristen Lennon
Read the paper [PDF,
321KB].
Atoms, Molecules, and States of Matter:
"An Analysis of Field Test Results for Assessment Items Aligned to the
Middle School Topic of Atoms, Molecules, and States of Matter"
Cari F. Herrmann Abell & George E. DeBoer
Read the paper [PDF,
36KB].
Matter Transformations in Living Systems:
"Probing Middle School Students' Understanding of Ideas About Matter Transformations
in Living Systems Through Content-Aligned Assessment"
Natalie S. Dubois & George E. DeBoer
Read the paper [PDF,
51KB]. View the poster [PDF,
1,139KB].
Interdependence in Living Systems:
"Probing Middle School Students’ Understanding of Ideas About Interdependence
in Living Systems Through Content-Aligned Assessment"
Kristen A. Lennon & George E. DeBoer
Read the paper [PDF,
113KB]. View the poster [PDF,
1,160KB].
# # #
For more information about Project 2061's assessment research, please contact:
Principal Investigator: Dr.
George DeBoer, (202) 326-6624
