caise

Alan Friedman writes with news of a study just released by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) that "confirms, with impressive rigor," the value of science education strategies the informal field has long been advocating. According to the report, Exploring What Works in Science Instruction: A Look at the Eight-Grade Science Classroom, increases in NAEP 8th-grade science test scores are significantly associated with increases in use of the following instructional strategies:

• Students doing hands-on science activities
• Students talking about measurements and results from hands-on activities
• Students working with others on a science activity or project
• Students reading a science textbook  
• Students writing long answers to science tests and assessments

Alan points out that "for decades, informal science organizations have been providing in-service teacher professional development concentrating on at least three of these ... strategies: hands-on science activities, measurement and analysis of hands-on activities, and team projects." A new science assessment introduced this year by NAEP includes hands-on test items and computer simulation activities, which, Alan believes, "will tell us much more about students’ inquiry skills, creativity, and problem solving abilities than we could learn from the previous tests. Results will not be out for some months, but I look forward to seeing how the ETS conclusions stand up (and are strengthened, I expect), by this enriched assessment."

The study is based on data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (www.nagb.org). Alan Friedman, a Co-PI of CAISE, is a member of the Governing Board.

A PDF of the 44-page report can be downloaded free at the ETS Policy Information Center.