Science Test Scores Research Articles

A Cross-cultural Exploration of Children's Everyday Ideas: Implications for science teaching and learning

Children's everyday ideas form critical foundations for science learning yet little research has been conducted to understand and legitimize these ideas, particularly from an international perspective. This paper explores children's everyday ideas about the environment across the US, Singapore and China to understand what they reveal about children's relationship to the environment and discuss its implications for science teaching and learning. A social constructivist lens guides research, and a visual methodology is used to frame children's realities. Participants' ages range from elementary to middle school, and a total of 210 children comprized mainly of Asians and Asian Americans were sampled from urban settings. Drawings are used to elicit children's everyday ideas and analyzed inductively using open coding and categorizing of data. Several categories support existing literature about how children view the environment; however, novel categories such as affect also emerged and lend new insight into the role that language, socio-cultural norms and perhaps ethnicity play in shaping children's everyday ideas. The findings imply the need for (a) a change in the role of science teachers from knowledge providers to social developers, (b) a science curriculum that is specific to learners' experiences in different socio-cultural settings, and (c) a shift away from inter-country comparisons using international science test scores.

The Effect of Two Scoring Methods on Multiple Choice Agricultural Science Test Scores

The study investigated the effect of two scoring methods on multiple choice agricultural sciences test scores, to find the most favourable method to be used, the interaction effect of two methods of scoring in the schools, types of school and the states. The research design used was combination of survey type and one short experimental design. A sample of 1,200 students was selected by stratified random sampling techniques in south western Nigeria. Two hypotheses were generated and tested at 0.05 level of significance using t - test and correlation analysis. The result of the analysis showed that, there was significant relationship between the performance of students whose scripts were marked with number right scoring method and those marked with logical choice weight scoring method. The study revealed that logical choice weight scoring method was a better method that favoured the scoring of the students in multiple choice Agricultural Science test. Based on this findings, it was recommended that logical choice weight should be introduced to teachers for use in the classroom as a new method of scoring multiple choice tests in both Junior and Senior Secondary Schools.

Migrant Youths‘ Educational Achievement: The Role of Institutions

We use 2009 Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) data to link institutional arrangements in OECD countries to the disparity in reading, math, and science test scores for migrant and native-born students. We find that achievement gaps are larger for those migrant youths who arrive later and for those who do not speak the test language at home. Institutional arrangements often serve to mitigate the achievement gaps of some migrant students while leaving unaffected or exacerbating those of others. For example, earlier school starting ages help migrant youths in some cases, but by no means in all. Limited tracking on ability appears beneficial for migrants' relative achievement, while complete tracking and a large private school sector appear detrimental. Migrant students' achievement relative to their native-born peers suffers as educational spending and teachers' salaries increase, but is improved when examination is a component of the process for evaluating teachers.

School Composition Effects in Spain

Drawing on the PISA 2006 data set, this study examines the impact of school’s socioeconomic composition on the science test scores of Spanish students enrolled in compulsory secondary education. We define school’s composition in terms of the average parental human capital of students at that same school. These contextual peer effects are estimated using a semi-parametric methodology, which enables spillovers to affect all the parameters in the educational production function. We also deal with the potential problem of student self-selection into specific schools by using an artificial sorting mechanism, which we believe to be independent of a student’s unobserved abilities. The results indicate that the association between a school’s socio-economic composition and test score results is clearly positive and significantly higher when computed using a semiparametric approach. However, we find that the endogenous sorting of students into schools also plays a fundamental role, given that spillovers are significantly reduced when this selection process is eliminated from our measure of school’s composition effects. Specifically, the estimations suggest that contextual peer effects are moderately positive only in those schools where the socio-economic composition is comparatively high. In addition, we find some evidence of asymmetry as to how the external effects and the sorting process actually operate, apparently affecting males and females and high and low performance students differently.

Are we wasting our children's time by giving them more homework?

Following an identification strategy that allows us to largely eliminate unobserved student and teacher traits, we examine the effect of homework on math, science, English and history test scores for eighth grade students in the United States. Noting that failure to control for these effects yields selection biases on the estimated effect of homework, we find that math homework has a large and statistically meaningful effect on math test scores throughout our sample. However, additional homework in science, English and history are shown to have little to no impact on their respective test scores.

An Argument for a Nationalized Education Effort: Confronting the Complications of the Tradeoffs between Teacher Quality and Class Size

This analysis examines teacher quality and class size, their respective effects on student performance, and the tradeoffs between the possible policy prescriptions associated with each. Data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study is used to formulate estimates through OLS and random effects regression modeling to look at the effects of teacher background and class-level variables on student test scores in math, reading, and science in the tenth and twelfth grades. Using the results of this analysis, qualitative and quantitative comparisons between the relative importance of these factors in specific grades and subjects, as well as cost comparisons of different policy alternatives, are used to help reorient the current understanding of the relationship between these important educational factors. Based upon the national applicability and nuance of these results, and the significant obstacles that stand in the way of enacting the policy prescriptions this Note suggests, an argument for substituting national education reform for state-focused adequacy lawsuits and legislative initiatives based on a civic constitutional right to an education is also advanced.

Are We Wasting Our Children's Time by Giving Them More Homework?

Following an identification strategy that allows us to largely eliminate unobserved student and teacher traits, we examine the effect of homework on math, science, English and history test scores for eighth grade students in the United States. Noting that failure to control for these effects yields selection biases on the estimated effect of homework, we find that math homework has a large and statistically meaningful effect on math test scores throughout our sample. However, additional homework in science, English and history are shown to have little to no impact on their respective test scores.

Migrant Youths' Educational Achievement: The Role of Institutions

We use 2009 Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) data to link institutional arrangements in OECD countries to the disparity in reading, math, and science test scores for migrant and native-born students. We find that achievement gaps are larger for those migrant youths who arrive later and for those who do not speak the test language at home. Institutional arrangements often serve to mitigate the achievement gaps of some migrant students while leaving unaffected or exacerbating those of others. For example, earlier school starting ages help migrant youths in some cases, but by no means in all. Limited tracking on ability appears beneficial for migrants' relative achievement, while complete tracking and a large private school sector appear detrimental. Migrant students' achievement relative to their native-born peers suffers as educational spending and teachers' salaries increase, but is improved when examination is a component of the process for evaluating teachers.

Migrant Youths' Educational Achievement: The Role of Institutions

We use 2009 Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) data to link institutional arrangements in OECD countries to the disparity in reading, math, and science test scores for migrant and native-born students. We find that achievement gaps are larger for those migrant youths who arrive later and for those who do not speak the test language at home. Institutional arrangements often serve to mitigate the achievement gaps of some migrant students while leaving unaffected or exacerbating those of others. For example, earlier school starting ages help migrant youths in some cases, but by no means in all. Limited tracking on ability appears beneficial for migrants' relative achievement, while complete tracking and a large private school sector appear detrimental. Migrant students' achievement relative to their native-born peers suffers as educational spending and teachers' salaries increase, but is improved when examination is a component of the process for evaluating teachers.

HOW MUCH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IS NEEDED TO EFFECT POSITIVE GAINS IN K–6 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT ON HIGH STAKES SCIENCE TESTS?

This paper is a report of a study that examines the relationship between teacher participation in a multi-year, K–6 professional development effort and the “high stakes” science test scores of different student groups in 33 rural mid-west school districts in the USA. The professional development program involved 1,269 elementary school teachers and utilized regional summer workshops and distance delivery technologies to help the teachers learn science concepts, inquiry teaching strategies, and how to adapt science inquiry lessons to teach and reinforce skills in the language arts. Regression analyses revealed a significant positive relationship between the professional development hours experienced by teachers and student gains on high stakes test scores. But the analyses also suggest that primary grade teachers need less professional development than upper grade teachers on instructional strategies where the focus is on the integration of language arts and science inquiry. The implications for funding and implementing professional development projects are discussed.

Encouraging or Stifling Innovation?

How innovative are English schools? This is, it turns out, a tough question to answer. One might expect that those at the forefront of developing new thinking about how we educate might be uniformly upbeat (almost as a professional requirement) about future prospects. But that isn't always the case. Some brim over with enthusiasm about the opportunities afforded by new technology; others see English schools as generally risk-averse organizations operating in an environment that's often inhospitable to new thinking. Paul Kelley is head teacher at Monkseaton High School in Whitley Bay in northeast England and has been featured in national newspapers for the groundbreaking work at his school. (At the time of writing, CNN was about to feature Monkseaton because of its policy of starting an hour later than normal based on evidence that teenagers learn better in the afternoon.) Last year, Monkseaton captured headlines after an experiment, which the said was based on research on how the brain works, in which students took an important biology exam after only an hour's lesson in the subject, broken up by 10-minute breaks in which students could play basketball to relax. A quarter scored higher than they did in another biology test that was taken after four months' teaching. spite of the innovation at Monkseaton, however, Kelley was downbeat about the prospects for new thinking taking hold in schools more widely. is risk-averse. Schools [in England] are controlled by governing bodies, or trusts, or churches, so they generally have limited freedom, and there are few mechanisms for sharing good practice. Similarly, in the U.S., boards have ever such tight control over what happens, and even charter schools are not necessarily geared to help each other make improvements, he said. In reality, I think it's difficult to see where the innovation is going to come from. There's no direction for there's no funding for there's no easy way of sharing it, Kelley said. Valerie Hannon, a director of The Innovation Unit, a nonprofit that was spun off from a government agency originally charged with encouraging new thinking in schools, also believes the United Kingdom lacks serious government investment in innovation, of the sort now being promoted by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan through the $650 million i3 (Investing in Innovation) Fund. Governments [in the UK] ... are very reluctant to take the lead on innovation, particularly because of the level of risk it is perceived to entail. They are small c conservative about it, Hannon said. So, it is left to those at the fringes, rather than at the political centre, to undertake this work. And some schools are doing terrific work. But the issue is: how to make it large scale. Moving beyond Hannon believes educators need to think beyond the standards or school improvement agenda that has animated politicians and leaders from the previous (Labour) government's election in 1997 onward. The movement has seen a concentration on improving test scores and exam grades in both elementary and high schools. However, after sharp improvements in national test scores in English, math, and science in the mid-1990s, the gains slowed dramatically from the year 2000. The figures now show around one in five 11-year-olds, for example, fail to reach government expectations in each of the tests. While the agenda had made a huge contribution, Hannon said, the figures suggest new approaches may be needed. People have to rethink on a deeper level why it is that many students are not really engaging in a deeper sense with learning, Hannon said. …

Paying to Learn: The Effect of Financial Incentives on Elementary School Test Scores

Abstract Policymakers and academics are increasingly interested in applying financial incentives to individuals in education. This paper presents evidence from a pay-for-performance program taking place in Coshocton, Ohio. Since 2004, Coshocton has provided cash payments to students in grades 3 through 6 for successful completion of their standardized testing. Coshocton determined eligibility for the program using randomization. Using this randomization, this paper identifies the effects of the program on students' academic behavior. We find that math scores improved about 0.15 standard deviations but that reading, social science, and science test scores did not improve.

Individual and school variables effects on science learning: a multilevel analysis of PISA 2006 data in

The paper describes the outcomes of a two-level regression analysis of the PISA 2006 science test scores in the province of Bolzano (Alto-Adige). They are particularly interesting because of the peculiarity of this province, where the organization of the education system is the same in the whole territory but schools are divided on the basis of language group their students belong: German/Ladin or Italian. More than forty variables from student and school-questionnaires have been analyzed by means of a series of models to study their effects on science scores and to identify which of them were associated with better performances at student and school level. Some hypothesis are also formulated to try to explain the superior performance of German/Ladin students and schools in comparison with Italian ones.

Effect of Enrollment in Agriscience on Students' Performance in Science on the High School Graduation Test

This study determined whether enrollment in agriscience education was related to high school students’ science achievement. The results of the mandatory high school graduate exit exams were used to measure science achievement. All test scores from non-special education students were utilized for the study. The comparison of the science achievement of agriscience education students to that of non-agriscience education students revealed that there were significant differences in scores on the science test and the subtests. The effect size for each of these areas was either small or of negligible practical significance. Regression analyses were used to determine if enrollment in agriscience education explained variance in the science scores, after controlling for variance attributed to age, grade level, gender, ethnicity, 504 status, and socioeconomic status. Significant models with moderate or large effect sizes existed that explained a portion of variance in scores on the science tests and subtests. However, after controlling for the six variables listed above, the contribution of enrollment in agriscience education to the science test and subtest scores was negligible. This result is positive evidence for the value of agriscience education since agriscience education students acquire knowledge, skills, and experiences substantially beyond the academic content in the courses.

Universal Design: Online Educational Media for Students with Disabilities

For students with disabilities, using the online educational media employed in most general education classrooms may be challenging, since much mainstream programming is not accessible. Online educational media take the form of integrated learning modules that contain content to enhance students' learning and support teachers' instruction. For students, each integrated learning module typically includes a full-length educational video and additional educational materials (such as still images, related articles, links to relevant web sites, self-study assessments, and activities). For example, the sample integrated learning module in the Universal eLearner (the Internet-based educational materials that are discussed next) contains a vocabulary list, a story, a story quiz, a video, three student activities, and a unit quiz. These online activities are designed to provide a comprehensive learning unit on a topic or to supplement traditional classroom instruction. Research has underscored the effectiveness of integrated learning modules in improving test scores in math (Taylor, 1999) and science (Cantrell, Pekcan, & Itani, 2006), but such modules are available in almost all content areas and at all educational levels from elementary school to postgraduate programs. The Universal eLearner is an online integrated learning module, under development, that incorporates accessible technology, universal design for learning, and best practices for online education. The American Foundation for the Blind and Bridge Multimedia have just completed a three-year grant through the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, U.S. Department of Education, to develop and test the latest version of the Universal eLearner. The Universal eLearner, although not a finished product, has been developed and fieldtested with students with disabilities (including those with visual impairments, hearing impairments, orthopedic impairments, and learning disabilities), as well as students who are English language and typically developing students. The evaluations conducted under the grant focused on the accessibility and usability of the Universal eLearner to provide feedback to the development team to improve the product further. An advisory board, consisting of professionals and consumers with all forms of disabilities, has also contributed their expertise to the development of the Universal eLearner. The prototype versions of the Universal eLearner are designed for an upper elementary school social studies unit using educational materials from the Pearson Digital Learning Knowledge Box series, but many of the outcomes of the testing of the Universal eLearner are applicable to integrated learning modules for any grade level and in any subject area. This report presents some of the outcomes from the grant-funded project to help professionals understand the needs of students with disabilities in relation to integrated learning modules and to offer suggestions for anyone who is developing universally accessible online educational programming. WHO BENEFITS FROM UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY? When products are created using universal design, the needs of people with physical and sensory disabilities are taken into account and accessibility features and options are built into the product (Flores, 2008). In the classroom, specialized learners include not only students who are blind or have low vision, students who are deaf or hard of hearing, and students with physical disabilities, but also students with learning disabilities, English language learners, and students with cognitive impairments. Each group faces its own significant learning challenges. Traditionally, students with all forms of disabilities have been provided instructional materials that have been designed for typical students, not those that have been adapted to meet their needs. These students also often receive instructional materials that are targeted exclusively toward students in their disability group that do not match the general education curriculum in rigor and content, which increases costs for school systems. …

Are Mathematics and Science Test Scores Good Indicators of Labor-Force Quality?

Using data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), we investigate the link between test scores (mathematics and science) and cross-country income differences. We would like to know whether test scores are good indicators of labor-force quality. The analysis suggests that after properly controlling other variables that are typical in cross-country economic growth study, the strong link between test scores and cross-country income differences disappears. Moreover, we show that variables such as Research and Development researchers (per capita) or Scientific and Technical journal articles (per capita) can better account for the cross-country income differences.

Examining the Underlying Factor Structure of a Statewide Science Test Under Oral and Standard Administrations

This study investigates the factorial invariance of the statewide science tests at the middle school level across the oral administration accommodation and nonaccommodated groups of students with and without disabilities. Results indicate that the factor loadings and error variances are invariant across groups, although the oral administration and general education groups in Grade 8 support partial invariance in error variances. On the whole, this study supports that the science test scores for the oral administration group have the same meaning for those for the nonaccommodated groups. Aside from providing supporting validity evidence, this study also introduces the analytical method that can be used for studies of the same nature in other states.

Is Modeling of Freshman Engineering Success Different from Modeling of Non‐Engineering Success?

AbstractThe engineering community has recognized the need for a higher retention rate in freshman engineering. If we are to increase the freshman retention rate, we need to better understand the characteristics of academic success for engineering students. One approach is to compare academic performance of engineering students to that of non‐engineering students. This study explores the differences in predicting academic success (defined as the first year GPA) for freshman engineering students compared to three non‐engineering student sectors (Pre‐Med, STEM, and non‐STEM disciplines) within a university. Academic success is predicted with pre‐college variables from the UCLA/CIRP survey using factor analysis and regression analysis. Except for the factor related to the high school GPA and rank, the predictors for each student sector were discipline specific. Predictors unique to the engineering sector included the factors related to quantitative skills (ACT Math and Science test scores and placement test scores) and confidence in quantitative skills.

Institutional arrangements in educational systems and student achievement: a cross-national analysis

Given the lack of evidence supporting the view that variation in observable educational inputs affect student achievement, many policymakers and researchers have tried to unearth the salient determinants of student learning. To that end, several recent studies have made use of international data on student achievement to assess the role played by institutional arrangements within the educational system. We revisit this literature using the 1999 TIMSS data—covering over 100,000 students from 22 countries—to analyze the association between different institutional arrangements and the distributions of science and math test scores. The results yield a number of interesting conclusions, as well as highlight the gains to analyzing student achievement within a distributional framework.

Low Birth Weight, Prematurity, and Paternal Social Status: Impact on the Basic Competence Test in Taiwanese Adolescents

To investigate whether birth weight and paternal education may have independent and interactive effects on the learning achievement of adolescents. We linked birth weights, gestational ages (term or preterm) and paternal education of a 4-year birth cohort to the Basic Competence Test (BCT) scores in Mandarin, mathematics and science for junior high school students age 15 to 16 years. The study groups comprised infants with term low birth weight (TLBW; n = 33 507), preterm normal birth weight (PNBW; n =19 905), and preterm low birth weight (PLBW; n = 25 840), as well as randomly selected term infants with normal birth weight (TNBW; n = 83 756). Paternal education levels were categorized. Compared with the TNBW adolescents, the TLBW adolescents consistently showed larger deficits in mean scores for Mandarin (beta = -2.36), mathematics (beta = -2.89), and science (beta = -2.11). The corresponding significant deficit scores for the PLBW adolescents were -1.93, -2.80, and -1.92. The deficit scores were very small for the PNBW adolescents. Paternal education was inversely associated with scores of all 3 groups. Lower paternal education level tended to worsen the negative impact of low birth weight on BCT scores. Both lower birth weight and lower paternal education exert an independent and interactive effect on adolescent learning achievement.