The purpose of this project is to build and empirically test a comprehensive approach for developing instructionally sensitive assessments that can provide a better picture of the extent that science instruction impacts student achievement. The project will develop and test an assessment approach that can improve the way that assessments are conceptualized and used for evaluation studies and/or accountability purposes. The large-scale, standardized, assessments students take may not be directly tied to the curriculum they are studying. This situation sets up a tension between the knowledge and competencies students are able to demonstrate on a particular assessment and those they may have which the assessment does not in fact probe. The goal of the project is to address this tension. The project will advance knowledge about validity that is critical to the evaluation of the effectiveness of instruction or instructional programs; it will expand the strategies available for developing and evaluating instructionally sensitive assessments; and it will provide evidence about the importance of implementing assessments varying in instructional sensitivity for accountability or program effectiveness purposes. The proposed research activities will guide future evaluation research and assessment development. The project aims to improve the science assessment practices in the participating school districts, mostly serving disadvantaged student populations. The project will provide training to participating teachers on how to develop and evaluate instructionally sensitive assessments, introduce strategies that can be used in their daily practice to judge the quality of the assessments and link assessments to instruction, and disseminate the approach and relevant materials to teachers in non-participating schools or school districts.
