Great Challenges and Great
Opportunities in Science
Education
Measuring and Developing
21st Century Competencies
Expectations for Learning
are Changing
The new context means new expectations. Most studies include:
Ability to communicate
Adaptability to change
Ability to work in teams
Preparedness to solve problems
Ability to analyse and conceptualise
Ability to reflect on and improve performance
Ability to manage oneself
Ability to create, innovate and criticise
Ability to engage in learning new things at all times
Ability to cross specialist borders
Chris Wardlaw, "Mathematics in Hong
Kong/China – Improving on Being First in PISA"
The Need for More Powerful Teaching
What Do Expert Teachers Do?
Expectations for Learning
are Changing
The new context means new expectations. Most studies include:
Ability to communicate
Adaptability to change
Ability to work in teams
Preparedness to solve problems
Ability to analyse and conceptualise
Ability to reflect on and improve performance
Ability to manage oneself
Ability to create, innovate and criticise
Ability to engage in learning new things at all times
Ability to cross specialist borders
Chris Wardlaw, "Mathematics in Hong
Kong/China – Improving on Being First in PISA"
NAEP, 8th and 12th Grade Science
1. What two gases make up most of the Earth's
atmosphere?
 A) Hydrogen and oxygen
 B) Hydrogen and nitrogen
 C) Oxygen and carbon dioxide
 D) Oxygen and nitrogen
2. Is a hamburger an example of stored
energy? Explain why or why not.
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Side Effects of High-Stakes
Multiple-Choice Testing on Teaching
“I have seen more students who can pass [the
test] but cannot apply those skills to anything if
it’s not in the test format. I have students who
can do the test but can’t look up words in a
dictionary and understand the different
meanings…. As for higher quality teaching, I’m
not sure I would call it that. Because of the
pressure for passing scores, more and more
time is spent practicing the test and putting
everything in the test format”
-- A Texas teacher
Ironic Effects of Poorly Designed High
Stakes Tests
 Greater emphasis on teaching to narrow
tests may reduce the time in the curriculum
devoted to more authentic, transferable
learning.
 For example, studies have found that more
attention to standardized test material and
formats reduces time spent on projects, lab
work, and written products.
 In addition, strong increases on highstakes tests do not always translate into
increases on other measures (e.g. Texas)
The “Texas Miracle”
Achievement Gap Appears Narrower
Ethnicity
90
Native American
Asian American
Mean TAAS Math Texas Learning Index
African American
Latino
Anglo
85
80
75
70
95-96
96-97
97-98
98-99
School Year
99-00
00-01
01-02
… But the Stanford-9 Tests Show Little Gain
and Little Closing of the Gap
(Mean Stanford Math Scores by Race/Ethnicity)
Ethnicity
700.00
American Indian or
Alaskan Native
Asian or Pacific
Islander
Mean Stanford Math Score
Black, not of Hispanic
origin
Hispanic
White, not of Hispanic
origin
600.00
500.00
400.00
97-98
98-99
99-00
School Year
00-01
01-02
In the U.S. under NCLB:
 Every state has gained steeply on state tests,
BUT
 Gains have slowed on the Nat’l Assessment
of Educational Progress, and even dropped
in 8th grade reading,
 U.S. scores and rankings dropped from 2003
to 2006 in math and science on PISA– a test
measuring higher order thinking and
performance skills.
U.S. Outcomes in
International Perspective
(8th Grade PISA Results in OECD Nations, 2006)
Science
Math
Finland
Canada
Japan
New Zealand
Australia
Netherlands
Korea
Germany
United Kingdom
Finland
Korea
Netherlands
Switzerland
Canada
Japan
New Zealand
Belgium
Australia
U.S. is # 21 / 30 OECD nations
#31 / 40 top nations
U.S. is #25 / 30 OECD nations
#35 / 40 top nations
Performance Assessments
Can Help Measure 21st Century Skills in
Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Contexts:
 Performance tasks that ask students to do or demonstrate
something specific (e.g. design and conduct a science
inquiry; research a social science problem; write a
persuasive essay; develop an engineering design)
 Student work samples that are scored
based on common standards – e.g. math
solutions, genres of writing, art work
 Portfolios that collect & evaluate work over time
 Exhibitions evaluated by outside jurors
Connecticut 9th / 10th Grade
Science Assessment
Acid Rain
Student Materials
Acid rain is a major environmental issue throughout Connecticut and much of the United
States. Acid rain occurs when pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide from coal burning power
plants and nitrogen oxides from car exhaust, combine with the moisture in the atmosphere
to create sulfuric and nitric acids. Precipitation with a pH of 5.5 or lower is considered acid
rain. Acid rain not only affects wildlife in rivers and lakes but also does tremendous damage
to buildings and monuments made of stone. Millions of dollars are spent annually on
cleaning and renovating these structures because of acid rain.
Your Task
Your town council is commissioning a new statue to be displayed downtown. You and your
lab partner will conduct an experiment to investigate the effect of acid rain on various
building materials in order to make a recommendation to the town council as to the best
material to use for the statue. In your experiment, vinegar will simulate acid rain.
You have been provided with the following materials and equipment. It may not be
necessary to use all of the equipment that has been provided.
Suggested materials:
Proposed building materials:
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containers with lids
graduated cylinder
vinegar (simulates acid rain)
pH paper/meter
safety goggles
access to a balance
limestone chips
marble chips
red sandstone chips
pea stone
Designing and Conducting Your
Experiment
1. In your words, state the problem you are going to
investigate. Write a hypothesis using an “If … then …
because …” statement that describes what you expect to
find and why. Include a clear identification of the independent
and dependent variables that will be studied.
2. Design an experiment to solve the problem. Your
experimental design should match the statement of the problem
and should be clearly described so that someone else could
easily replicate your experiment. Include a control if appropriate
and state which variables need to be held constant.
3. Review your design with your teacher before you begin your
experiment.
4. Conduct your experiment. While conducting your experiment,
take notes and organize your data into tables.
Communicating Your Findings
Working on your own, summarize your investigation in a laboratory
report that includes the following:
 A statement of the problem you investigated. A hypothesis
(“If ... then … because …” statement) that described what
you expected to find and why. Include a clear identification of
the independent and dependent variables.
 A description of the experiment you carried out. Your
description should be clear and complete enough so that
someone could easily replicate your experiment.
 Data from your experiment. Your data should be organized
into tables, charts and/or graphs as appropriate.
 Your conclusions from the experiment. Your conclusions
should be fully supported by your data and address your
hypothesis.
 Discuss the reliability of your data and any factors that
contribute to a lack of validity of your conclusions. Also,
include ways that your experiment could be improved if you
were to do it again.
Expectations for Learning are
Changing
The new context means new expectations. Most studies include:
Ability to communicate
Adaptability to change
Ability to work in teams
Preparedness to solve problems
Ability to analyse and conceptualise
Ability to reflect on and improve performance
Ability to manage oneself
Ability to create, innovate and criticise
Ability to engage in learning new things at all times
Ability to cross specialist borders
Chris Wardlaw, "Mathematics in Hong
Kong/China – Improving on Being First in PISA"
Assessment in
High-Achieving Systems
 Finland – Local performance assessments with a
national sample assessment in 2nd & 9th grade. A
college matriculation test is developed by teachers
and professors and scored locally. Emphasis is on
open-ended tasks that require reasoning, production,
and reflection.
 Sweden – Teachers design local performance
assessments to evaluate syllabus goals each year. At
9th grade and above, they develop and score national
exams in selected subjects with professors, and
incorporate scores into their grades. Items are openended essays and problems, much like Finland, that
emphasize reasoning and real-world problems.
Swedish Assessment Item, Year 5
Carl bikes home from school at four o’clock. It takes
about a quarter of an hour. In the evening, he’s going
back to school because the class is having a party. The
party starts at 6 o’clock. Before the class party starts,
Carl has to eat dinner. When he comes home, his
grandmother calls, who is also his neighbor. She wants
him to bring in her post before he bikes over to the
class party. She also wants him to take her dog for a
walk, then to come in and have a chat. What does Carl
have time to do before the party begins?
Write and describe below how you have
reasoned.
Australia, Hong Kong
Queensland – Local performance assessments are
developed and scored by teachers with approval by a
regional panel and moderation of scores. Centrallydeveloped “rich tasks” can be used by schools.
Victoria – State tests at 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11-12th grades
feature mostly essays and open-ended items,
augmented by local classroom tasks that = 50% of
score. All are developed and scored by teachers
(with professors at upper grades).
Hong Kong’s new Territory-wide System Assessment
(TSA) is developing an online bank of assessment
tasks to enable schools to assess students and
receive feedback on their performance on their own
timeframes. The formal TSA assessments, which
include both written and oral components, are given
in grades 3, 6, and 9 and scored by teachers.
High School Biology Exam,
Victoria, Australia
3. When scientists design drugs against infectious agents, the term “designed drug”
is often used.
A. Explain what is meant by this term.
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Scientists aim to develop a drug against a particular virus that infects humans. The
virus has a protein coat and different parts of the coat play different roles in the
infective cycle. Some sites assist in the attachment of the virus to a host cell;
others are important in the release from a host cell. The structure is represented
in the following diagram:
The virus reproduces by attaching itself to the
surface of a host cell and injecting its DNA into the host
cell. The viral DNA then uses the components of host cell
to reproduce its parts and hundreds of new viruses bud off
from the host cell. Ultimately the host cell dies.
Analysis and Application of
Knowledge
B. Design a drug that will be effective against this virus. In your answer outline the
important aspects you would need to consider. Outline how your drug would
prevent continuation of the cycle of reproduction of the virus particle. Use
diagrams in your answer. Space for diagrams is provided on the next page.
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Design and Scientific Inquiry
Before a drug is used on humans, it is usually tested on animals. In this case, the
virus under investigation also infects mice.
C. Design an experiment, using mice, to test the effectiveness of the drug you have
designed.
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School-Based “Coursework” Assessment
Victoria, Australia
In Unit 3 Biology, students are assessed on 6 pieces of
work related the 3 outcomes specified in the syllabus.
 Outcome 1 – 3 practical tasks, one on plant & animal
cells, another on enzymes, and a third on membranes.
 Outcome 2 – 2 practical activities related to
maintaining a stable internal environment, one for
animals, one for plants
 Outcome 3 – A research report / presentation on
characteristics of pathogenic organisms and
mechanisms by which organisms can defend against
disease.
A Rich Task:
Science and Ethics Confer
Students must identify, explore and make judgments on a biotechnological
process to which there are ethical dimensions. Students identify scientific
techniques used as well as significant recent contributions to the field. They will
also research frameworks of ethical principles for coming to terms with an
identified ethical issue or question. Using this information they prepare preconference materials for an international conference that will feature
selected speakers who are leading lights in their respective fields.
In order to do this students must choose and explore an area of biotechnology
where there are ethical issues under consideration and undertake laboratory
activities that help them understand some of the laboratory practices. This
enables them to:
a) Provide a written explanation of the fundamental technological differences
in some of the techniques used, or of potential use, in this area (included in the
pre-conference package for delegates who are not necessarily experts in this
area).
b) Consider the range of ethical issues raised in regard to this area’s purposes and
actions, and scientific techniques and principles and present a deep analysis
of an ethical issue about which there is a debate in terms of an ethical
framework.
c) Select six real-life people who have made relevant contributions to this area and
write a 150-200 word précis about each one indicating his/her contribution, as
well as a letter of invitation to one of them.
Applications of knowledge and skills
assessed in Science and Ethics Confer
This assessment measures:
 research and analytic skills;
 laboratory practices;
 understanding biological and chemical structures and
systems, nomenclature and notations;
 organizing, arranging, sifting through, and making
sense of ideas;
 communicating using formal correspondence;
 précis writing with a purpose;
 understanding ethical issues and principles;
 time management
Potential Sources of Student, Teacher, and
System Learning from Assessment Systems
 Curriculum-embedded tasks requiring reasoning and
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performance may ensure that higher-order skills are
taught and practiced
Centrally-developed tasks that are rich, generative, and
evaluate application of knowledge may help equalize
learning opportunities for students
Teacher engagement in developing and scoring tasks with
guidance and moderation support teacher learning
Connection of tasks to standards, curriculum frameworks,
or syllabi can support curriculum clarity
System learning can occur through examination of
practice by accreditors, sharing of practice across sites
(electronically as well as face-to-face), and aggregation of
results and student work exemplars