Making Sense of Science (Electric Circuits Assessment)

Making Sense of Science (Electric Circuits Assessment) is a written test that measures teachers' pedagogical content knowledge regarding electric circuits. Test items are aligned to the National Science Education Standards Benchmarks, the Full Option Science System curriculum, and the Science and Technology Concepts curriculum. Items reflect the format and content of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) assessments. The measure has been used as a pre- and post-test to assess the effects of professional development programs. There is also a student written assessment with 15 linked items.

Content

Category
Sub-Category
Domains
Teacher Knowledge
Grades
5th Grade
Languages
English
Respondent
Teacher

Administration Information

Length
33 items (29 multiple-choice items; 4 open-response items)

Access and Use

Price

Free

Contact
Open Access
No
Use in Research

Heller, J. I., Daehler, K. R., Wong, N., Shinohara, M., & Miratrix, L. W. (2012). Differential effects of three professional development models on teacher knowledge and student achievement in elementary science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching49(3), 333-362. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21004

Psychometrics

Scoring
Manual scoring
Psychometric References

Ronfeldt, M., & Truwit, M. (2023). Considerations for use of teaching quality measures. EdInstruments Brief, Annenberg Institute for School Reform, Brown University. www.edinstruments.com/teaching.

Psychometric Considerations

Psychometrics is the science of psychological assessment. A primary goal of EdInstruments is to provide information on crucial psychometric topics including Validity and Reliability – essential concepts of evaluation, which indicate how well an instrument measures a construct - as well as additional properties that are worthy of consideration when selecting an instrument of measurement.

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