caise

Looking for assessment tools to help evaluate quality and outcomes of informal science programs? ATIS (Assessment Tools in Informal Science), a searchable database of tools for evaluating science learning and child outcomes in out-of-school programs, is now available.

ATIS was developed by PEAR, the Harvard University-McLean Hospital Program in Education, Afterschool, and Resiliency, under the leadership of Gil G. Noam. "Afterschool programs are gaining recognition as settings that hold great potential for increasing scientific literacy and engagement in youth," the developers write. "Yet some questions remain: How do we know when afterschool programs achieve their goals? What evaluative tools should we use when assessing afterschool science programs? How can we be sure the evaluative tools we use are valid and reliable--are they appropriately measuring science programming and outcomes?"

To help answer those questions, PEAR undertook a year-long study of the current state and needs of the informal science assessment world, with support from the Noyce Foundation. The study design was based on the Framework for Evaluating Impacts of Informal Science Education Projects, edited by Alan J. Friedman, with support from NSF. The PEAR study yielded an in-depth, analytical review of existing evaluation tools, documented in the 2008 report Toward a Systematic Evidence Base for Science in Out-of-School Time: The Role of Assessment. The new, searchable ATIS website makes information about these assessment tools easily accessible. Users are invited to contribute reviews of instruments they are using. The site will be continuously updated in collaboration with youth development researchers at 4-H.