Linking Assessment to Science Achievement

这项为期两年的关于将评估与科学成就联系起来的调查（LASA）将由华盛顿大学的研究人员进行。研究人员将通过制定科学成就的工作定义并将其应用于分析测试项目来解决大规模科学测试项目的认知效度。特别是，LASA项目将探索什么样的评估方法是最适合衡量科学成就的不同方面，通过参加的支持（启示）和嵌入在评估项目的限制，比较学生的项目上的表现，并调查考生的认知活动时，他们对这些项目的反应。 此外，亦会透过课堂观察和学生作业分析，探讨该模式在课堂评估上的应用。研究计划包括三个部分：（1）逻辑分析会从概念上研究评估项目，然后使用编码主题来识别每个项目对考生的启示和限制，并据此将项目分类。（2）认知分析将分析受试者的并发和回顾性言语行为（根据被试的熟练程度不同），以判断被试的推理认知活动及其策略是否与项目分类相对应;以及（3）统计分析将检查和比较项目得分的统计模型，以确定被分类为测量一种知识类型的项目是否会聚集在一起，以及知识因素是否会与教学实践。智力优势：科学成就的拟议框架借鉴了文献的三个分支（（1）关于科学课程和标准的研究，涉及学生在科学中应该知道什么和能够做什么，（2）关于认知心理学的研究，涉及学生如何学习科学，（3）关于教育测量的研究，涉及如何测量学生的科学学习），以充分解决标准之间的联系，学习、指导和评估。具体来说，研究者将科学成就概念化为四种相互依赖的知识类型：（1）陈述性知识，（2）程序性知识，（3）图式知识，（4）策略性知识。 研究者断言，为了有效地评估科学成就，应该检查不同方法的测试，以引出学生对不同类型知识的表现。 更广泛的影响：研究者认为，该项目将对科学评估产生重大影响，并将对教育研究和实践产生重大影响。从LASA获得的知识将告知研究人员，教育工作者，考试出版商和决策者关于新的理论和实践方法来概念化和评估学生在科学领域的学习。此外，这项工作将有助于人类认知和学习的研究，探索考生如何使用知识和策略来解决问题的评估背景。

This two-year investigation on Linking Assessment to Science Achievement (LASA) will be conducted by researchers at University of Washington. The investigators will address cognitive validity of large-scale science test items by developing a working definition of science achievement and applying it to analyze test items. In particular, the LASA project will explore what assessment methods are best suited to measure different aspects of science achievement by attending to the supports (affordances) and constraints embedded in assessment items, comparing students' performance on items, and investigating examinees' cognitive activities when they respond to those items. Classroom observations and the analysis of students' work will also be performed in order to explore the application of the model to classroom-level assessment.The project will include three research components: (1) a logical analysis will examine the assessment items conceptually and then use a coding theme to identify what affordances and constraints each item offers to examinees and accordingly classify the item by the type(s) of knowledge it taps; (2) a cognitive analysis will analyze concurrent and retrospective verbalizations of examinees (varying in proficiency level) while they respond to the assessment items in order to determine whether examinees' inferred cognitive activities and their strategies correspond to the item classifications; and (3) a statistical analysis will examine and compare statistical models of item scores to determine whether items classified as measuring one type of knowledge will cluster together and whether the knowledge factors will be associated with variations in instructional practices. Intellectual Merit: The proposed framework for science achievement draws upon three branches of the literature ((1) research on science curriculum and standards addressing what students should know and be able to do in science, (2) research on cognitive psychology addressing how students learn science, (3) and research on educational measurement addressing how students' science learning should be measured) to fully address the connections between standards, learning and instruction, and assessment. Specifically, the investigators conceptualize science achievement as four interdependent types of knowledge: (1) declarative knowledge, (2) procedural knowledge, (3) schematic knowledge, and (4) strategic knowledge. The investigators assert that, in order to assess science achievement validly, tests varying in their methods for eliciting students' performance regarding different types of knowledge should be examined. Broader Impact: The investigators believe that the proposed project will have significant impact for science assessment in specific, and educational research and practice in general. The knowledge gained from LASA will inform researchers, educators, test publishers, and policymakers about new theoretical and practical approaches to conceptualizing and assessing students' learning in the domain of science. In addition, this proposed work will contribute to studies of human cognition and learning by exploring how test takers use knowledge and strategies to solve problems in the assessment context.