What Is the Influence of the National Science Education Standards? Reviewing the Evidence, A Workshop Summary (2003) / Chapter Skim
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4. Taking Stock of the National Science Education Standards: The Research for Assessment and Accountability
4. Taking Stock of the National Science Education Standards: The Research for Assessment and Accountability
Pages 76-90
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From page 76... ...
anc3 AAAS Benchmarks for Science Literacy, clevelopec3 by national groups of content experts, will be fully represented in state or other stanclarcis clevelopec3 through a public or political process. Thus, it is a viable question to ask what is the influence of the NSES anc3 AAAS Benchmarks on state stanclarcis, accountability systems, anc3 assessments.
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From page 77... ...
Much of this has occurred since the publication of the NSES. Very little research has been clone that specifically looks at the influence of the NSES or the AAAS Benchmarks on assessment anc3 accountability, or, in turn, on the relation of science assessments or accountability to teachers' classroom practices.
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From page 78... ...
Accountability Systems In reviewing the research anc3 literature from the last clecacle on accountability policy anc3 practice, science education, systemic reform, anc3 stanclarcis-basec3 reform, we found little evidence of a direct connection between the NSES or the related AAAS Benchmarks to accountability systems clevelopec3 for public education. We slid, however, finch strong, indirect channels linking the stanclarcis-basec3 reform movement, the development of state stanclarcis, the increased use of assessment to measure student performance, anc3 the emergence of accountability systems focused on improving teaching anc3 learning.
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From page 79... ...
Accountability is just one of the "assumed components" of systemic reform, which also includes curriculum, instruction, professional development, assessments, school autonomy, school improvement, anc3 support mechanisms from states anc3 districts (Clune, 1998~. At the heart of systemic reform are stanclarcis; the alignment of new stanclarcis with all the other components is cleemec3 critical to improving the quality of teaching anc3 learning.
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From page 80... ...
Research on Them Change and Vanation Change anc3 growth have marked the development of education accountability systems over the last clecacle; much of this evolution has occurred as more states anc3 districts respond to the policy emphasis on stanclarcisbasec3 reform anc3 measurement of progress by student performance (Goertz, 2001~. CPRE researchers draw attention to the shift in state accountability systems, from regulating anc3 ensuring compliance based on district anc3 school inputs, to accountability systems focused on student performance.
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From page 81... ...
creating multiple assessments to measure student performance growth more frequently than state testing programs, anc3 (3) creating a vast array of local rewards anc3 sanctions aimed at school improvement, improving teacher quality, anc3 closing achievement gaps (Council for Basic Education, 2000~.
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From page 82... ...
Science Performance and Accountability Information on the extent to which science is targeted in assessment anc3 accountability systems anc3, more specifically, the role played by the NSES anc3 the AAAS Benchmarks in those systems that can be gleaned from reviewing a wide array of "status reports" is insightful, but limited. For example, one can learn that a great clear of progress has occurred at the state level regarding the development of science stanclarcis, science course requirements, anc3 science assessment.
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From page 83... ...
Second, they propose that effective accountability practices must also be symmetrical, with balanced responsibility for improving student performance shared among states, districts, schools, anc3 students. Finally, the authors advise that good accountability systems are fair anc3 equitable, with all students having opportunities to learn, appropriate supports anc3 resources, anc3 phasec3-in accountability based on multiple measures anc3 decision consistency.
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From page 84... ...
To identify possible influences of the NSES anc3 AAAS Benchmarks requires a creeper unclerstancling of what science assessment is anc3 what assessments that have been influenced by these documents look like. In the next section, we will define science assessment anc3 describe more about what assessments are more compatible with the NRC anc3 AAAS reform documents.
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From page 85... ...
An Expanding View of Science Assessment The NSES anc3 AAAS Benchmarks were not clevelopec3 in isolation anc3 were themselves influenced by a changing view of assessment. This makes it extremely difficult to attribute assessment practices strictly to these documents.
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From page 86... ...
Assessment practices that will produce information on students' knowledge of science as expected in the NSES anc3 the AAAS Benchmarks require the use of different techniques. The goals for student learning articulatec3 in these documents go beyond teaching students basic facts anc3 skills to engaging students in cloing science, asking questions, constructing anc3 testing explanations of phenomena, communicating ideas, working with data anc3 using evidence to support arguments, applying knowledge to new situations anc3 new questions, solving problems anc3 making decisions, anc3 unclerstancling the history anc3 nature of science.
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From page 87... ...
as an online, stanclarcis-basec3, interactive resource bank of science performance assessments (QuelImalz, Schank, Hinojosa, anc3 Papilla, 1999~. This resource bank has drawn heavily on tasks generated by the State Collaborative on Assessment anc3 Students of the Council of Chief State School Officers for K-12 science (Roeber, 1993~.
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From page 88... ...
clic3 an extensive meta-analysis of research on classroom assessment anc3 student learning over a nine-year period. They concluclec3 from the compilation of the evidence that improving formative assessment raises stanclarcis, that formative assessment still can be improved, anc3 that information exists on how to improve formative assessment.
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From page 89... ...
CONCLUSIONS Accountability anc3 assessment systems increased in importance as the NSES anc3 AAAS Benchmarks gained greater prominence. A clear link between these science reform documents anc3 the major shift over the past clecacle toward increased accountability anc3 assessments was not found in the literature accumulated by NRC for this review.
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From page 90... ...
Assessment practices, such as using multiple measures or having students write about their unclerstanclings, are both consistent with teaching for unclerstancling anc3 teaching for inquiry as clescribec3 in the NSES. Even though a clear link collie not be macle between assessment practices used by states anc3 districts anc3 the NSES anc3 the Benchmarks, the research floes provide convincing evidence that assessment practices JO influence both teachers' practices anc3 subsequent student learning.
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