 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
CREST | Research
IES awards College researchers $4.8 million/5 years to create a new doctoral training program for educational scientists
CIRGE | Research
CIRGE has been busy: its 5-Years Out study drew wide attention and it has hosted three int'l workshops on PhD education...
Research
Projects
Project Title: Linking Assessment to Science Achievement
COE Investigator: Min Li
Funding Source: National Science Foundation
Start/End Dates: 07/01/03-6/31/05
This study 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 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.
Projects
