Development and Validation of a Science Inquiry Skills Assessment

ABSTRACT

This paper reports on the development and validation of a science inquiry skills assessment for Earth science (iSA–Earth Science) in middle schools that classroom teachers can use to assess and monitor their students' science inquiry skills. An assessment framework with six primary inquiry skills, each with three to six subskills, was developed based on a comprehensive review of the literature and following the recommendations of the National Science Education Standards (NSES; NRC, 1996) and A Framework for K–12 Science Education (FSE; NRC, 2012). The six primary skills are: (1) identify questions for scientific investigations, (2) design scientific investigations, (3) use tools and techniques to gather data, (4) analyze and describe data, (5) explain results and draw conclusions, and (6) recognize alternative explanations and predictions. The assessment development and validation process followed guidelines from the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (American Educational Research Association [AERA], American Psychological Association [APA], and National Council of Measurement in Education [NCME], 1999). Psychometric analysis using both classical test statistics and Item Response Theory showed the instrument was internally consistent, reliable, and did not function differentially for male and female students. Implications for science education practice and research are discussed.

Key words::

• science education
• inquiry skill
• assessment
• validity/reliability
• teacher/student empowerment
• standards
• formative assessment
• Rasch modeling

Acknowledgment

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0554556. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.