Science Testing in California

Science is currently assessed at grades 5, 9, 10, and 11.  Grade 8 will be assessed beginning in Spring 2005 with the administration of field-test items.  Additional information on the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program can be found at the CDE website.  This website contains the test blueprints for standard-based items in science at each grade level tested. Additional information on assessment can also be found including the NCLB Science test for grade 10.  Go to: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/blueprints.asp

Performance Assessment Items.

PALS is an on-line, standards-based, continually updated resource bank of science performance assessment tasks indexed via the National Science Education Standards (NSES) and various other   standards frameworks.  The tasks, collected from numerous sources, include student directions and response forms, administration procedures, scoring rubrics, examples of student work, and technical quality data calculated from field testing. On-line rater training packets have also been created for some tasks. Go to:  Http://pals.sri.com/

Released Test Questions for the California CSTs (1/07/2005)

The California Department of Education has released test questions for the California Standards Tests (CSTs). The released questions are in Language Arts, Mathematics, Science (Grades 4/5 and Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, and Physics), and Social Science. The questions were used in the 2003 and 2004 tests, and will not be used again. As a sample, they give an indication of the kinds of questions administered. The released test questions are included in downloadable pdf documents for the different subject areas and grade levels. The documents first list the standards that could be tested at that grade level/subject. The sample questions themselves are presented later in the documents. These have been posted to the CDE web site at:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/css05rtq.asp

Performance/Alternative/Authentic Assessment and Science Education Reform- A Web Quest Activity for Science Educators (http://science.kennesaw.edu/~thowick/sci4415schedule.htm#assessment).   The  purpose of this site is to introduce preservice science teachers (or interested others) to issues related to performance assessments in K-12 science.  This type of assessment is also known as "alternative" or "authentic".  Performance assessments were developed as alternatives to standardized multiple choice tests that often emphasize the recall of science facts.  Performance assessments ask students to engage in activities involving  manipulating materials, hypothesizing, collecting data,  and making arguments general, asking them to behave in ways similar to that of practicing scientists, to solve authentic problems.