Science Proficiency Research Articles

Presentations from the 10th International Conference on Zebrafish Development and Genetics, Madison, Wisconsin, June 20–24, 2012

Presentations from the 10th International Conference on Zebrafish Development and Genetics, Madison, Wisconsin, June 20–24, 2012

Improvement in Student Science Proficiency Through InSciEd Out

Integrated Science Education Outreach (InSciEd Out) is a collaboration formed between Mayo Clinic, Winona State University, and Rochester Public Schools (MN) with the shared vision of achieving excellence in science education. InSciEd Out employs an equitable partnership model between scientists, teachers, education researchers, and the community. Teams of teachers from all disciplines within a single school experience cutting-edge science using the zebrafish model system, as well as current pedagogical methods, during a summer internship at the Mayo Clinic. Within the internship, the teachers produce new curriculum that directly addresses opportunities for science education improvement at their own school. Zebrafish are introduced within the new curriculum to support a living model of the practice of science. Following partnership with the InSciEd Out program and 2 years of implementation in the classroom, teacher-interns from a K-8 public school reported access to local scientific technology and expertise they had not previously recognized. Teachers also reported improved integration of other disciplines into the scientific curriculum and a flow of concepts vertically from K through 8. Students more than doubled selection of an Honors science track in high school to nearly 90%. 98% of students who took the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments in their 5(th) and 8(th) grade year (a span that includes 2 years of InSciEd Out) showed medium or high growth in science proficiency. These metrics indicate that cooperation between educators and scientists can result in positive change in student science proficiency and demonstrate that a higher expectation in science education can be achieved in US public schools.

Further education for unsuccessful grades 9 to 12 school leavers in South Africa

Statistics released by the Education Management Information Systems (EMIS), (2002 to 2009) reveal that 60% of learners entering Grade 9 leave school without attaining Grade 12 certificates. These learners do not qualify for employment because employers prefer well-trained experienced employees. A limited number (12 500 annually) of learnership and apprenticeship opportunities are also out of reach because they have to compete with better-qualified candidates. High unemployment rates (25.3%) and very high youth unemployment (48%) signifies their bleak prospects. The poor success rate of these learners, attempting further education at FET colleges, implies inappropriateness of the existing curricula at these colleges to address their educational needs. Their educational foundation, primarily based on language, mathematics and science proficiency, is insufficient for progress in mainstream further education at schools or Further Education and Training colleges. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate the educational situation and propose a curriculum for a specific field, which can serve as an example for further research and establishment of appropriate curricula over the spectrum of learner aptitudes and interests. For this purpose, the field of engineering was selected to reduce the research to manageable size, uniform characteristics and a specific curriculum focus. Addressing their quest for skills and qualifications can be met with transdisciplinary practicum-based education obviating the linguistic-logic-mathematical predilection of mainstream education. Key words: Educational foundation, constructivism, knowledge integration, transdisciplinary, practicum-based, differentiated development.

Utilizing Xenarthra (Tree Sloth, Anteater, Armadillo, Ground Sloth, Glyptodont, and Pampathere) Cranial Material to Evaluate Students' Understanding of This Thing Called Science

ABSTRACTTwo-thirds of U.S. citizens do not understand the scientific process. There is a clear misunderstanding about what science is—and is not—both in our society and in the classroom. Furthermore, students below basic proficiency are locked into an achievement gap. In response, the No Child Left Behind Act was passed in 2001. Since then, there has been some progress in decreasing the achievement gap. However, according to The Nation's Report Card, 34% of fourth grade and 43% of eighth grade students sampled by the National Assessment for Educational Progress still fall below a basic level of proficiency in science. To evaluate what is misunderstood about the scientific process, third through eighth graders were guided to discern science from pseudoscience, and form testable questions by using 45 animal skulls and design experiments, and to then collect and analyze data to answer their questions based on the graphs they developed. They were given a pre-assessment at the beginning and a postassessment the end of a 12-h unit to determine changes in learning. These data were analyzed by a paired Student's t-test. The results show that students gained significantly in memorizing facts and making objective observations about xenarthrans. Students were not able, however, to transfer the skills gained to make objective observations about dinosaurs. In addition, they had difficulty differentiating between scientific questions (objectively testable) from nonscience questions.

Would Science Background Be a Factor in Parents Helping Students Establish a Match between School Science and Home Activities?

This study was designed to investigate parental influence as a factor in helping students establish a match between science concepts learn in schools and the activities they carry out daily at home. Studies have revealed that tension that exists between these two experiences is one of the major factors of poor performance of students in science. One hundred and ten male and female (48 and 62) parents, 67 with science background and 43 without, constituted the sample. A self-constructed, validated questionnaire consisting of four parts, that sought parents’ responses on what home activities they engaged their children in, what science concepts they taught through them, readiness and barriers to their involvement, was used to generate data. The results show that both categories of parents saw science as very important for science and technological advancement. They did not see the engagement of their children in household chores, as a hindrance, rather an opportunity to get involved, as such is a vital ingredient to children’s success. However, there are limitations to their involvement. Lack of literacy and proficiency in science and not being able to see the relationship between school science and home activities are some of them. It is recommended that every school child should be exposed to ample science courses, even when such child has other options, since he or she will grow to become a parent in future. Teachers too should try as much as possible to relate science teaching to what the child does daily at home.

Comparing Science Achievement Constructs: Targeted and Achieved

This article illustrates how test specifications based solely on academic content standards, without attention to other cognitive skills and item response demands, can fall short of their targeted constructs. First, the authors inductively describe the science achievement construct represented by a statewide sixth-grade science proficiency test. Then they describe the science achievement construct intended to be represented by the test, based on the test blueprint. After comparing the two versions—the intended and achieved constructs—they discuss features of achievement constructs defined to guide test design and development.

Using professional development to achieve classroom reform and science proficiency: an urban success story from southern Nevada, USA

This paper provides a detailed description and evaluation of a three‐year professional development project in a large urban setting in the southwestern United States. The impetus for the project was curriculum development focused on integrated scientific inquiry. Project goals included the development of a professional learning community, reformed teacher practice, and improved content knowledge for teachers and their students. Annually, a two‐week summer institute was provided for approximately 50 high school science teachers with graduate‐level coursework during the academic year. The results document improvements in teacher content knowledge and key changes in the classroom characteristics of teacher participants. Further, students enrolled in a target course with teachers who participated fully in the professional development were more than twice as likely to pass the state science examination. The results from this project add to what is known about delivering successful, contextually relevant professional development.

Opportunities-to-Learn at Home: Profiles of Students With and Without Reaching Science Proficiency

This study examines the relationship between opportunity-to-learn (OTL) at home and students’ attainment of science proficiency. The data set used was the 2006 PISA science US national sample. Data mining was used to create patterns of association between home OTL variables and student attainment of science proficiency. It was found that students who failed to reach science proficiency are characterized by having fewer than 100 books at home; these students are also found to take out-of-school individual or group lessons with their teachers or with other teachers. On the other hands, students who reached science proficiency are characterized by having more than 100 books at home, not taking any out-of-school lessons, and having a highest parent level of graduate education. In addition to the above common characteristics, other home characteristics (e.g. computer and internet at home and language spoke at home) are also identified in profiles of students who have reached science proficiency. We explain the above findings in terms of current social-cultural theories. We finally discuss implications of the above findings for future studies and for improving science education policy and practice.

The Cross-Case Analyses of Elementary Students’ Engagement in the Strands of Science Proficiency

Recent reports have begun to lay the foundation for a re-visioned K-8 science curriculum which includes four strands that could be used to define and assess science proficiency for all students. Using these strands as an analytic lens, this pre-post multiple-case case study explores elementary school science teachers’ practices and their students’ actions. This work focuses on naturally occurring ordinary events and builds a description of how these strands of proficiencies are being developed. The results of cross-case analyses suggest that while the participating teachers do engage their students in activities and exercises that contribute to the development of all 4 strands of science proficiency; the nature, duration, and distribution (across the 4 strands) of these activities varied.

School Composition and Context Factors that Moderate and Predict 10th-Grade Science Proficiency

Background Performance in high school science is a critical indicator of science literacy and regional competitiveness. Factors that influence science proficiency have been studied using national databases, but these do not answer all questions about variable relationships at the state level. School context factors and opportunities to learn science may vary geographically across states and interact with demographic composition variables. Purpose The purpose was to examine relationships between 10th-grade science proficiency and school context factors related to school environment, courses, and teachers. The moderating or interaction effects were examined for the school demographic composition variables of free/reduced lunch and minority percentages on variable relationships with science proficiency scores. Population and Unit of Analysis Data for this study consisted of all Missouri high schools in 2002 with a 10th-grade class size of at least 25 students (N = 423). Unit of analysis was the single school. Research Design This was a secondary data analysis study that used variables collected annually from all schools in Missouri. Multiple regression was used to examine relationships and moderating effects of school demographic composition. Predictor variables were grouped into three categories for school context: school environment, course-related, and teacher-related. The outcome variable was 10th-grade scientific attainment as measured by the Missouri state proficiency test in science. Results School context variables of higher dropout and mobility rates signaled greater risk factors, especially when moderated by free/reduced-price lunch percentage (FRL pct) and minority status. When FRL pct and Minority pct were higher, lower science proficiency scores were associated with elevated dropout rates. Similarly, greater mobility was related to lower science scores when school FRL pct was high. Some school-level variables interacted positively with FRL pct and minority status, which resulted in higher science scores. Schools with more FRL and minority students achieved higher science proficiency scores when they had a greater percentage of courses taught by highly qualified teachers and more teachers were regularly certified. Higher science scores were associated with greater percentages of master's degree teachers in schools with a larger percentage of minority students. A surprising finding revealed a geographic influence and demonstrates why testing for interactions can lead to better understanding of the data. Conclusions The findings are consistent with the status attainment literature and the theoretical arguments associated with geography and educational attainment in that socioeconomic status and minority status are important predictive factors in Missouri. As an extension of previous research, this study demonstrates that the school composition variables of FRL pct and Minority pct are significantly related to science proficiency in the 10th grade. Not only are they predictive of science proficiency scores, but they also interact with each other and moderate the relationships between school context variables and 10th-grade science scores. This study suggests that teacher quality in high-poverty majority-minority school settings remains an important policy target for reform and improvement.

Accommodations for English Language Learners Taking Large-Scale Assessments: A Meta-Analysis on Effectiveness and Validity

Including English language learners (ELLs) in large-scale assessments raises questions about the validity of inferences based on their scores. Test accommodations for ELLs are intended to reduce the impact of limited English proficiency on the assessment of the target construct, most often mathematic or science proficiency. This meta-analysis synthesizes research on the effectiveness and validity of such accommodations for ELLs. Findings indicate that none of the seven accommodations studied threaten the validity of inferences. However, only one accommodation—providing English dictionaries or glossaries—has a statistically significant effect on ELLs’ performance, and this effect equates to only a small reduction in the achievement score gap between ELLs and native English speakers. Findings suggest that accommodations to reduce the impact of limited language proficiency on academic skill assessment are not particularly effective. Given this, we posit a hypothesis about the necessary role of academic language skills in mathematics and science assessments.

Middle Schools Preparing Young People for 21st Century Life and Work

A close examination of the battery of evidence and informed analysis about education over the past generation strongly indicates that middle schools are searching for a mission. labels say it all: Mayhem in the Middle. The Forgotten Middle. Stuck in the Middle. Muddled in the Middle. This lack of clarity is ironic, given the urgency of preparing an emerging generation of young people for the competitive challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. global economy and democratic society that today's 10- to 14-year-olds will inherit demand a different kind of preparation than that experienced by any previous generation. schools are uniquely positioned to take ownership of this territory. middle years are crucial-and often the last best chance-for engaging and motivating students to achieve results that matter. Developing proficiency in 21st century skills, along with deep content knowledge, should be the mission of middle schools and the outcome of middle grades education. Redefining rigor for the 21st century All students need a rigorous education to thrive in a complex, connected, and constantly changing world. Rigor, however, must be redefined for the 21st century. Mastery of core academic subjects is a necessary, but no I longer sufficient, credential for postsecondary workplace, or citizenship readiness. Equally important are competencies in the 21st century skills that differentiate the leaders and laggards on the international playing field-the arena in which every industry and individual in advanced nations competes today. These skills (listed in Figure 1) include critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration, creativity, financial and health literacy, and global awareness. We can no longer afford fair to middling middle school performance. There is a much higher calling to which middle schools must aspire-nothing less than the teaching and assessing of the central skills of success in the 21st century. Students must leave school with a deep knowledge of academic content and with the 21st century skills they need to apply their knowledge, work with others, and manage their lives. Emphasis on 21st century skills promotes learning by doing, talking, and processing in teams, problem solving, expanding the audience for learning, and giving students more choice, said Mary Jo Conery, assistant superintendent for 21st century learning in the Catalina Foothills School District in Tucson, Arizona. Middle school students are ripe for these kinds of experiences, as they are also developing a sense of identity. They want and need engaging work that stimulates their curiosity, involves them in decision making, provides some autonomy and choice in learning, improves self-regulation, and allows opportunities for creative expression. This kind of learning environment will not only motivate and challenge our adolescent students but aid them in discovering who they are, who they want to be, and prepare them to be productive 21st century citizens who will succeed in a rapidly changing world (personal communication, November 6, 2008). void in the middle National and state efforts to improve education over the past decade have done little to carve out a singular mission for middle schools. Under No Child Left Behind, elementary schools have a clear mission of getting students ready to learn-a reasonable goal. Specifically, this means developing and improving student proficiency in reading, mathematics, and science. Clearly, foundational knowledge and skills are essential for more advanced learning. High school reform initiatives, meanwhile, are converging on the clear mission of getting students ready for college or careers, with growing consensus that the requirements for either path are the same: rigorous coursework in core academic subjects and proficiency in 21st century skills (see, for example, Achieve, 2008; ACT, 2005; Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2006). …

Reading Achievement and Science Proficiency: International Comparisons From the Programme on International Student Assessment

Students need to develop scientific literacy in order to participate fully as citizens, community members, and in the globalized economy. But what is the relationship between scientific literacy and reading literacy? Three international data sets from the Programme on International Student Assessment (PISA) were used to calculate correlations between scientific literacy and reading literacy for 15-year-old students. Mean correlations at the individual student level across countries were .840 for the PISA 2000 data set, .805 for the PISA 2003 data set, and .819 for the PISA 2006 data set. In all three data sets, this correlation varied among countries, and the reading-science relationship was weakest in countries with low country mean reading scores. Three possible interpretations are discussed, favoring the interpretation that knowledge and skills that drive higher reading comprehension also drive higher science achievement.

The impact of gender on the perceptions of and preferences for technology-based games

Technical fluency and visual-spatial skills, requisites for proficiency in science, mathematics and engineering, are related to the use of technology-based games among children. Girls, however, do not play with the same prevalence as do boys and, thus, may not have the same access to the benefits of such play. To explore why, we perform an inventory of the technology-based games available in the USA and evaluate them vis-a-vis a technology-as-a-male critique, girls' and boys' play styles and the differences in game preferences among young men and women. The results show that games that match the play styles and preferences of girls are underrepresented not because the technology skews towards males, but rather because the preferences of girls and young women have simply been overlooked. The implications for socialising girls into technology and developing products that are attractive to girls (thus, tapping into a potentially lucrative but overlooked market segment) are discussed.

Why South Korean Universities Have Low International Rankings

Although South Korea has the 14th largest economy in the world with a total GDP of $971,100,000,000(CIA, 2007:8) and with a per capita GDP of $24,800 (CIA, 2007:8), having received a GlobalCompetitiveness Index ranking of 11th place for the years 2007-2008 (GCI, 2007-2008), and a literacyrate of 97.9% for 15 year olds (CIA, 2007:5) with the country being ranked first in reading, fourth inmathematics and sixth in science proficiency, for the same age group, by The Programme forInternational Student Assessment – 2006 (PISA, 2006:47,53 & 20), the country can by no means boastabout the international rankings of its universities. For instance, the best Korean university (SeoulNational University) places 21st in Asia and 164th in the world according to the Shanghai Jiao TongRanking system (Figure 1), while receiving a ranking of 51st in the world according to the Times HigherEducation – QS world Universities Rankings 2007 (Figure 2).Sadly,

Initial Trends in MSP-Related Changes in Student Achievement With MIS Data

This substudy in the evaluation design of the Math and Science Partnership (MSP) Program Evaluation investigates changes in student mathematics and science achievement across three school years, 2002–03, 2003–04, and 2004–05, for MSP-related schools using Management Information System data with the Annual K-12 District Survey. First, changes in percentages of students (at or above) proficient on state assessments in math and science were investigated by gender, ethnicity, special education, and students with limited English proficiency using schools for which data were available for all three years. The results indicated that MSP schools continued to show improvement in student math and science proficiency over the three-year period. Second, schools were examined by frequency and effect size of increase, decrease, or no change in student math and science proficiency from the “start” (2002–03) to the “end” (2004–05) of the period for this study. The schools with positive changes were in much higher numbers and higher mean effect size of change compared to schools with negative (or no) changes in student math and science proficiency. Third, the relationship between the schools' targeted teacher participation in MSP-related activities over the entire period of three years and the student math and science proficiency at the “end” year of this period (2004–05) was also investigated. It was found that this relationship was positive and significant for the elementary and high schools, but there was no evidence for its significance at the middle school level.

11.5.2 Systems Engineering the U.S. Education System

AbstractThis paper presents the recent and on‐going activities that are applying systems engineering to the U.S. education systems to identify potential improvements that will increase student proficiency and interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Because applying the methods of systems engineering to a complex human system, like the U.S. education system, is somewhat novel, system dynamics modeling, which is not typically used in aerospace systems engineering projects, was required. Also, because of a lack of systems specific expertise and the need for new and diverse ideas, the project was performed as a student project with competing teams. The complexity of the U.S. education systems required an examination of the total system and then focusing on a limited portion of the system. This paper shows how the complexity was dealt with and how the particular area for detailed examination was selected. Current activities and plans are also presented.

Do State Science Standards Matter? Comparing Student Perceptions of the Coverage of Evolution in Indiana & Ohio Public High Schools

The importance of as the fundamental explanatory principle in biology has been affirmed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1993), the National Academy of Sciences (1998), and the National Science Teachers Association (2003). It is therefore expected that should be prominent in the life science standards--documents to which biology teachers can refer as to what their state considers to be essential learning in their discipline--in all states. This is, however, not the case (Cavanagh, 2005; Gross, 2005). Variation in state standards in results from both debate within boards that write them as well as well-publicized efforts of special interest groups to influence their decisions, usually by seeking reduced treatment of or adding some form of creationism such as intelligent design (Wallis, 2005). Additionally, state legislatures have become increasingly active in this area. According to the National Center for Science Education (www.natcenscied.org), legislative attempts to modify the curriculum are increasingly common, occurring in 12 states in 2005 and 11 in 2006, compared to an average of five states/year in 2002-2004. These battles over science standards regarding speak to their perceived importance in determining what is covered in science classrooms. If standards are important, then states with better standards should have better science teaching in their public schools. In 2000, Lerner published a study sponsored by the Fordham Foundation comparing state standards regarding the teaching of evolution. He reviewed standards from 49 states and the District of Columbia, and graded the standards based on their treatment of evolution. Indiana and nine other states received a grade of A (very good or excellent), while 12 states, including Ohio, received a grade of F (useless or absent). The standards Lerner reviewed for Indiana were part of the Indiana Science Proficiency Guide adopted in 1997. These standards, and those that replaced them in 2000 (Indiana's Academic Standards), both contained a specific section on with explicit competencies in topics such as natural selection, adaptation, and evidence for evolutionary change. The Ohio standards examined by Lerner were contained in Science: Ohio's Model Competency-Based Program adopted in 1994. There was no section on evolution, and only a few competencies included evolutionary topics such as natural selection. The word evolution was not used in a biological context. The dramatic difference in the state standards in two neighboring states provided an opportunity to test the hypothesis that state standards influence curricula. The hypothesis predicts that, in public high school biology courses in Indiana compared to those in Ohio, (1) should receive more classroom time, and (2) teacher explanations for the diversity of life should be more likely to emphasize evolution. Previous studies have surveyed high school biology teachers (reviewed in Moore, 2002). My interest, however, was in how students perceived coverage. Ideally, the predictions above could best be tested by a survey given to Indiana and Ohio high school students who had just completed their first biology course; however, many public school systems are reluctant to participate in such a survey (Moore et al., 2006). As an alternative, students were surveyed about their high school biology while taking their first college biology course for majors at state universities in Indiana and Ohio. Methods The survey began with a statement printed on the form and also read aloud by the instructor, informing the students that participation was voluntary and would not influence their grades in the course. Students were instructed not to put their names on the form. There followed eight questions that generated a description of where and when the student's first high school biology course was taken, the number of years of biology completed in high school, and the nature of the high school (public, private, or parochial). …

Changes needed in U.S. science education

Improvements in U.S. science education require a coordinated curriculum from kindergarten through grade eight (K‐8),with standards focused on several core ideas, according to a 21 September report from the National Research Council of the U.S. National Academies. The committee that authored the report recommended that K‐8 science education offer students the opportunity to become versed in knowing, using, and interpreting scientific explanations of the natural world, and in other ‘strands’ that comprise proficiency in science. Students also should receive a variety of learning experiences, including conducting investigations, sharing ideas with their peers, and using models. The report urges policymakers, researchers, and leaders in education to tackle gaps in science achievement that persist between white students and non‐Asian minority students, and between economically advantaged and disadvantaged children. In addition, the committee found that although studies show that children can think in sophisticated ways, science education usually assumes that children are simplistic thinkers.

Improving science achievement at high-poverty urban middle schools

A large percentage of U.S. students attending high-poverty urban middle schools achieve low levels of science proficiency, posing significant challenges to their success in high school science and to national and local efforts to reform science education. Through its work in Philadelphia schools, the Center for Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins University developed a teacher-support model to address variation in science curricula, lack of materials, and underprepared teachers that combined with initial low levels of proficiency block improvements in science achievement. The model includes a common science curriculum based on NSF-supported materials commercially available, ongoing teacher professional development built around day-to-day lessons, and regular in-class support of teachers by expert peer coaches. One cohort of students at three Philadelphia middle schools using the model was followed from the end of fourth grade through seventh grade. Their gains in science achievement and achievement levels were substantially greater than students at 3 matched control schools and the 23 district middle schools serving a similar student population. Under school-by-school comparisons, these results held for the two schools with adequate implementation. Using widely available materials and techniques, the model can be adopted and modified by school partners and districts. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 90:1005–1027, 2006