MOSART HSPS: Misconceptions Oriented Standards-Based Assessment Resource for Teachers of High School Physical Sciences

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The Discovery Research K-12 program (DRK-12) seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models and tools (RMTs). Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects.Researchers in the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics at Harvard University are developing and validating assessment instruments intended to measure chemistry and physical science concepts for students and teachers in grades 9 through 12. This project builds upon the widely used K-12 Misconception Oriented Standards-based Assessment Resource for Teachers (MOSART) developed by this research team. The project is developing 500 new test items that are intended to assess disciplinary core ideas in chemistry and physics aligned to Next Generation Science Standards. The new measures will be used to measure the knowledge acquired in a year of study by 10,000 students and 200 teachers in chemistry and physics. The new assessment items and instruments will be made available to other researchers and practitioners through the project website and the on-line MOSART assessment system.The assessment development process is based on prior research conducted to develop similar MOSART items and instruments, which includes design efforts of assessment specialists, content experts, and research scientists. Pilot items are tested with a national sample of approximately 20,000 high school students and their teachers. Data will be analyzed using item response theory to model student responses. Outcomes consist of item parameters, test and sub-test characteristics, and predictive linkages among items. Descriptive statistics are generated to establish the state of student knowledge, pre-and post-test performance by item and by standard, and teacher knowledge. Descriptive analyses are followed by hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to examine the relationships between teacher-level and program-level variables. The MOSART instruments have been widely used and are based on a model of cognition with a strong research base in misconceptions in science education. These additional Grade 9-12 chemistry and physics instruments will address gaps in the current MOSART system of assessments. The new instruments focused on chemistry and physics disciplinary core ideas provide a much needed set of assessments for researchers and practitioners, particularly teacher professional development providers.