Multilevel Assessments of Science Standards
Author: Quellmalz, Edys S.
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Middle School Students,Management Systems,Rhetoric,Student Evaluation,Science Tests,Second Language Learning,Field Tests,Program Effectiveness,Articulation (Education),Task Analysis,Middle Schools,Computer Simulation,Science Instruction,Evaluation

The Multilevel Assessment of Science Standards (MASS) project is creating a new  generation of technology-enhanced formative assessments that bring the best formative  assessment practices into classrooms to transform what, how, when, and where science learning is assessed. The project is investigating the feasibility, utility, technical quality, and effectiveness of formative assessments, summative assessments and the Learning Management System (LMS) developed in the SimScientists program. The MASS project is funded by IES and has the following goals: (1) Use systematic design principles to create formative assessments with technical quality to be used during (embedded) and at the end of (benchmark) science curriculum units; (2) Use systematic assessment principles to create a coherent, multilevel state science assessment system by aligning (1) the items within the embedded assessments and the items within the benchmark assessments with the student, task, and evidence models used to design them (horizontal alignment), and (2) the designs of the embedded and benchmark assessments and items with state science standards and relevant items on the state science test (vertical articulation); (3) Study the relationship of the formative assessments and activities to student learning; (4) Study the validity of the use of data from the embedded and benchmark assessments for interpreting student performance on the targeted science standards; and (5) Describe the components of the formative assessments and their implementation so that they can serve as scalable models. The pilot test involved 5,867 middle school students in Spring 2010. This population is from a range of small to large schools and districts, including rural, urban, and suburban districts, a variety of ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, and includes English learners and students with disabilities. In the field test, approximately 800 middle school students are participating in Spring 2011; an additional 500-800 middle-school students will participate in Fall 2011. These populations are from a large school district, a variety of ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, and include English learners and students with disabilities. The simulation-based assessments studied in this project could contribute to the coherence, comprehensiveness, and continuity of a state science assessment system. Comprehensiveness would be improved by using simulation-based unit assessments to add measurements of science standards for integrated system knowledge and active inquiry practices. Continuity would be improved by the multiple measures unit benchmark assessments could add to state science assessment reports. Coherence could be forged by a nested set of simulation-based assessments in the form of curriculum-embedded modules for formative uses, unit benchmark assessments for summative proficiency, and use of the unit benchmark data or tasks in district or state science testing. (Contains 4 tables.)