NAEP Released Items
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as The Nation's Report Card (U.S. Department of Education, 2006a), is the only national representation of what American students know and can do in various subject areas. Currently, the Commissioner of Education Statistics, who heads the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education (2006a), is responsible by law for carrying out the NAEP project.
Individual student and/or school scores are not reported by NAEP; rather NAEP provides content area achievement for various populations. Released results are based on samples of student populations from a variety of areas. NAEP assessments include a large percentage of constructed-response questions. Innovative types of questions have been used in assessments such as the arts (theatre, music, and visual arts) and science to measure students' ability to perform hands-on tasks (U.S. Department of Education, 2006a).
TIMSS Released Items
The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) was designed to set benchmarks for over 50 countries worldwide with the ultimate goal of improving student learning in mathematics and science. The results of these tests shed light on educational achievement at the 4th and 8th grades, and, thus, provide information about trends in student performance (U.S. Department of Education, 2006b).
The TIMSS project is a mission of the IEA, which is headquartered in Amsterdam, and is currently directed by the TIMSS International Study Center at Boston College (http://nces.ed.gov/timss/). Tests are administered on a regular four-year cycle. The third round of tests has recently been completed and the results can be viewed at: http://nces.ed.gov/timss/Results03.asp. The first round of TIMSS was in 1995, the second round in 1999, and the third round in 2003. Released items from the 1995 test can be accessed at: http://timss.bc.edu/timss1995i/Items.html. Items from the 1999 test can be accessed at: http://timss.bc.edu/timss1999i/pdf/t99science_items.pdf, while the latest items can be accessed at: http://isc.bc.edu/timss2003i/released.html. Formatted differently on the web, the documents are downloadable in PDF format (see Figure 2).
Figure 2. Distribution
of TIMSS items (data almanacs for achievement items) from the International
Study Center, Boston College, Lynch School of Education Web site: http://timss.bc.edu/timss1995i/data_almanacs_95.html
Conclusion Preparing students who can think critical and independently in the face of standardized testing is arguably the most challenging component of instruction for today's educators. Assessing student knowledge, whether as prior knowledge or as a summative assessment, is a difficult but worthwhile task if properly planned. Using released test items from norm-referenced tests such as NAEP and TIMSS can effectively prepare students for standardized tests and provide valuable data to inform rather than inhibit future instruction for middle school students.
The notion of a perfect assessment is as intriguing as the theory of
cold fusion in chemistry. We would like to believe that it could be
accomplished. However, what remains to be seen is the true definition
of perfect. What works for one may not work for another. Carl Sagan
(BrainyMedia, 2006)
said, “There are many hypotheses in science which are wrong. That's
perfectly all right; they're the aperture to finding out what's right.”
This statement rings true in the quest for assessing meaningful student
learning. As No Child Left Behind remains paramount in Washington,
D.C., it becomes increasingly more critical to use technology to reach
teachers and to assess student development and learning. The Internet
provides a plethora of information for teachers. The key component to
successful instruction for all educators at all levels is to keep the
communication and dissemination lines open. Funding for technology integration
in schools is only second behind funding for increased reading. Educators
at all levels must communicate how the Internet and other technologies
can be used to inform and improve instruction, and we must all continue
to be researchers determined to find the perfect assessment model. We
can learn from what others have attempted, and let those attempts be
the “aperture to finding out what's right.”
Although technology use in middle schools often focuses more on student use and benefit, the teacher remains the catalyst for student learning. Research on the ways technology can assist teachers in planning lessons and preparing students is lacking in the literature. This article addresses one example of technology benefiting instruction wherein the Internet provides an abundance of resources through released NAEP and TIMSS test items. Much more research is needed. If No Child Left Behind continues as the focus of our educational system it then makes sense that we should follow the notion of No Teacher Left Behind as well.
* Special thanks to Julie Kuschke.
References
BrainyMedia. (2006). BrainyQuote:
Carl Sagan quotes. Retrieved July 5, 2006, from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/c/carlsagan141365.html
Garrison, D. R. (1990). An
analysis and evaluation of audio teleconferencing to facilitate learning
at a distance. The American Journal of Distance Education, 4(3),
13-24.
Holiday , W.A.G., Yore, L.A.D.,
& Alderman, D.E. (1994). The reading-science learning-writing connection:
Breakthroughs, barriers and promises. Journal of Research in Science
Teaching, 34(9), 887-893.
Lampert, M. (2001). Teaching
problems and the problems of teaching. New Haven, CT: Yale University
Press.
National Commission on Mathematics
and Science Teaching for the 21st Century. (2002). Before it's too
late: A report to the nation . Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department
of Education.
No Child Left Behind Act of
2001, Pub. L. No. 107-110, 115 Stat. 1425 (2002). Retrieved November
29, 2005, from http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/index.html
Paige, R. (2002). An overview
of America 's educational agenda. Phi Beta Kappan, 83(9), 708-713.
Tresman, S., Thomas, J., &
Pindar, K. (1998). The potentiality of distance learning. The School
Science Review, 69(249), 687-691.
U.S. Department of Education.
(2005). No child left behind. Retrieved November 29, 2005,
from http://www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml?src=pb
U.S. Department of Education.
(2006b). Trends in international mathematics and science study. Retrieved
June 27, 2006, from http://nces.ed.gov/timss/
U.S. Department of Education.
(2006a). The nation's report card: National assessment of educational
progress. Retrieved June 27, 2006, from http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/glossary.asp#n
About the Authors:
 |
Robert D. Kuschke
is a Ph.D. student in education at the University of Missouri-St.
Louis. He is also a business education teacher and department
chair for Tunkhannock Area High School, Tunkhannock, PA, and he
holds an adjunct faculty position with Bloomsburg University.
His research interests are in adult education and educational
technology.
Email: robert.kuschke@tasd.net
Send correspondence
to:
RR 3 Box 178-B
Harvey 's Lake , PA 18618
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 |
Leonard A.
Annetta is an assistant professor of science education
at North Carolina State University. His research has focused on
distance learning and the effect of instructional technology science
learning of teachers and students in rural and underserved populations.
Dr. Annetta has numerous publications, conference presentations,
and funding on the effectiveness of technology and science teacher
education. He has designed and created an online, synchronous
3D virtual environment for distance learning courses offered at
North Carolina State. His most recent endeavor, HI FIVES (Highly
Interactive Fun Virtual Environments in Science), has been funded
by the National Science Foundation to investigate the viability
of video games as a supplement to science instruction in grades
five-nine.
Email: len_annetta@ncsu.edu
Send correspondence
to:
College of Education
Poe Hall 326-H, Box 7801
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-7801
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~lannett
http://ced.ncsu.edu/hifives/
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