Download Standards-Based Science Assessment (PP)

Standards-Based
Science Assessment
Ohio’s Science Cognitive
Demands
Science is more than a body of knowledge.
It must not be misperceived as lists of topics
to be covered in the six standards in Ohio’s
Academic Content Standards, K-12
Science. Holistically, science is a way of
studying the natural world.
Cognitive Demand
Every Ohio achievement test item for
science is classified on the basis of what the
item asks of the student in terms of
reasoning, evaluating investigative
procedures, understanding science
concepts or analyzing scientific information
and technological solutions
Cognitive Demand
Distributing items across the types of
cognitive demand ensures a balance of
ways for students to demonstrate
science skills and understandings
Types of Cognitive Demand
• Recall / Identify Accurate Science
• Communicate Understanding / Analyze
Science Information
• Demonstrate Investigative Processes
of Science
• Apply Concepts / Make Relevant
Connections with Science
Types of Cognitive Demand
Recall / Identify Accurate Science
• Students provide and identify accurate
statements about previously learned,
scientifically valid facts, concepts and
relationships
• Teachers use a variety of motivators to engage
students’ thinking to help them access
previously learned science knowledge and
skills
Types of Cognitive Demand
Communicate Understanding / Analyze
Science Information
• Students analyze scientific information and
communicate scientifically, given rich investigative
scenarios and valid scientific data and information
• Teachers use questioning and science content
knowledge and content-pedagogy to facilitate
exploration of standards-based questions, challenge
misconceptions and help students develop scientifically
valid conceptions and explanations
Types of Cognitive Demand
Demonstrate Investigative Processes of
Science
• Students use scientific inquiry skills, grounded
in standards-based science content
• Teachers integrate the teaching of standards
for Scientific Inquiry and Scientific Ways of
Knowing into opportunities for students to
conduct investigations aligned with the content
standards
Types of Cognitive Demand
Apply Concepts / Make Relevant
Connections with Science
• Students apply science in the context of individuals and
society and scientifically analyze consequences and
alternatives, given real-world situations and
technological problem-solving scenarios
• Teachers integrate the teaching of standards for
Science and Technology, Scientific Inquiry and
Scientific Ways of Knowing into opportunities to help
students contextualize and expand understandings of
science content standards
Implications for Instruction
Employing instructional strategies
that allow students a variety of
ways to demonstrate their science
skills and understandings can
improve learning and performance
on Ohio’s standards-based
assessments
Statewide Assessment
Factors that affect student
performance on statewide
assessment items
–Student Ability
–Item Attributes
–Random Factors
OGT Spring 2005 Data
Standard and Benchmark Assessed:
• Multiple choice item on
which Ohio students
performed the lowest
– Physical Science
– Recalling / Identifying
Accurate Science
– 25% of students
responded correctly
Standard:
Physical Sciences
Benchmark:
F. Explain how energy may change form or be redistributed but the
total quantity of energy is conserved.
Multiple Choice Question:
Inclined Plane Experiment
In doing the following inclined plane experiment in “ideal conditions,” students assume
that friction from the air, incline or floor is negligible. A stationary box at the top of a
frictionless incline is released and is allowed to slide to the bottom. The figure below
illustrates the box in four positions labeled A through D as it is sliding from the incline
onto the level floor. As the box moves from the bottom of the incline to the floor, students
assume that the box experiences no change in speed, only a change in direction.
GS0040PSEXC0348D
3. The total energy of the box is
A. always the same.
B. negative at point D.
C. increasing with time.
D. zero before the box is released.
OGT Spring 2005 Data
• Multiple choice item on
which Ohio students
performed the highest
– Life Science
– Communicating
Understanding /
Analyzing Science
Information
– 90% of students
responded correctly
Standard and Benchmark Assessed:
Standard:
Benchmark:
Life Sciences
C. Explain the genetic mechanisms and molecular basis of inheritance.
Multiple Choice Question:
Sickle cell Disease
Sickle cell disease is a group of inherited disorders in which deoxygenated red blood
cells become distorted and take on a shape like a sickle. There are two common alleles
for this gene. One causes normally shaped red blood cells and the other allele causes
the red blood cells to have a sickle shape. The sickled cells can lodge in the smallest
blood vessels and reduce the circulation of blood to tissues.
The sickle cell allele is most common in areas where the disease malaria is a significant
problem, and among people whose ancestors are from those areas. Evidence shows
that having just one sickle cell allele makes a person resistant to malaria.
This genetic condition is a recessive trait. When an individual has only one allele for the
sickle cell trait, the person is a carrier.
The pedigree below represents a family in which some members have the sickle cell
allele.
GS0013LSCXC0233A
14.
Which person on the pedigree could not pass the allele for sickle cell disease to
his/her offspring?
A. V
B. X
C. Y
D. Z
Student Performance
Characteristics of Items that may Impact
Individual Student Performance
• Standard and benchmark
– What content is covered?
• Format of item
– How is the information presented?
• Passage-based or not passage-based
• Multiple-choice, short-answer, extended-response
• Cluster-based or not cluster-based
• Cognitive demand
– What does the task require in terms of student
thinking?
• Random factors
Student Performance on Spring
2005 OGT Multiple-choice Items
Standard
Ave %
Correct
Cognitive
Demand
Ave %
Correct
ES
65
R
58
LS
59
C
65
PS
58
D
68
A
80
SI
SWOK
ST
74
Preliminary Analysis of
Spring 2005 OGT Data
• Student performance on constructed
response items is significantly lower than
performance on similar multiple choice
items
• Student performance is not significantly
different across standards or benchmarks
• Student performance appears to be
impacted by item cognitive demand
Preliminary Analysis
Research suggests that student
achievement is positively impacted by:
• Teaching for transfer by providing
students with a variety of tasks
• Varying the complexity of tasks and
emphasizing higher-order thinking
skills
• Teaching for mastery and helping
students reflect on their learning
D. W. Tileston. ( 2000.) Ten Best Teaching Practices
R. J. Marzano. (2003.) What Works in Schools
Preliminary Analysis
Research suggests that student
achievement is positively impacted by:
• Ensuring multiple exposure to, and
complex interactions with knowledge
• Comparing classroom or individual
student data to statewide data to reveal
gaps in instruction or student experience
D. W. Tileston. ( 2000.) Ten Best Teaching Practices
R. J. Marzano. (2003.) What Works in Schools
Cognitive Demand
How can understanding
cognitive demand inform
classroom instruction to
improve student
performance?
Aligning to the Standards
Click on the following links to learn more about:
The Learning Cycle and Classroom Inquiry
Standards-based Science Instruction
Standards-based Science Assessment
Teacher Tools for Reflecting on Teaching Science
Student Tools for Reflecting on Learning Science