Toward a New Generation of Student Outcome Measures: Connecticut's Common Core of Learning Assessment Page: 4 of 40
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B. The Need for Alternative Assessment
Approaches in Science and Mathematics
In both science and mathematics, recent reports and assessments have made
clear the pressing need for alternative approaches for both teaching and
assessing what students know and can do in these two critical subject areas.
The Nation's Report Card, released on February 14, 1989 (Roberts, 1989),
lamented the fact that "too few students develop the capacity to use the
knowledge and skills they require in school for thoughtful or innovative
purposes." The report went on to elaborate that "too few students learn to
reason effectively about information from the subjects they study." It is
clear that in order to improve students' knowledge and understanding of
science and mathematics, tomorrow's instruction and assessments must be
different from today's in profound ways (see IEA, 1988; McKnight, Crosswhite,
Dossey, Kiffer, Swafford, Travers and Cooney (1987); and Mullis and Jenkins,
1988).
The Condition of Science Education and Assessment
The June 22, 1988 comments by Harmon, Mokros, Dawson, Hartwig, Henderson,
Lowery, and Taylor on the need for new assessment materials was confirmed at
two recent meetings sponsored by the National Science Foundation, in November
1988, in Chatham, Massachusetts (see Hein, 1988) and in January, 1989 in
Tampa, Florida (see Blank, 1989). Science educators and measurement experts
at both meetings strongly emphasized the national need for new and expanded
examples of performance testing in our nation's schools. A report soon to be
released by the National Center for the Improvement of Science Education on
assessing science in elementary school will reiterate this point (see Raizen,
Baron, Champagne, Haertel, Mullis, and Oakes, 1989). A key point made by
Harmon, et.al. is that an over-reliance on multiple-choice testing not only
emphasizes simple recall of facts and/or recognition of textbook experiments,
but militates against the less predictable hands-on approach. They also state
that "the existing norm-referenced tests not only fail to support or encourage
the implementation of new developments in science curriculum and pedagogy, but
their continued, near-universal use may dampen or totally inhibit
implementation of such approaches." This claim finds support in data from the
NAEP Report Card showing that the percentage of students in high school (age
17) who were at or above proficiency levels on higher order thinking skills in
science were shockingly low. Only 7% can infer relationships and draw
conclusions using detailed knowledge and 41% have some detailed scientific
knowledge and can evaluate the appropriateness of scientific procedures.
The Condition of Mathematics Education and Assessment
A parallel set of reports is currently being released in mathematics. The
current year, 1989, is likely to be known as the "Year of the Mathematics
Reform Reports." To some extent, these reports may be seen as a direct
response to the very alarming finding reported by NAEP "that only 6% of our
seventeen-year-olds can solve multi-step problems and use basic algebra (see
Dossey, Mullis, Lindquist, and Chambers, 1988). This year has already seen
the release of Everybody Counts developed by the Mathematics and Sciences
Education Board (MSEB) of the National Academy of Sciences (see National
Research Council, 1989). Soon to be released are the Curriculum and-2-
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Baron, Joan Boykoff; Forgione, Pascal D., Jr.; Rindone, Douglas A.; Kruglanksi, Hannah & Davey, Bruce. Toward a New Generation of Student Outcome Measures: Connecticut's Common Core of Learning Assessment, thesis or dissertation, March 29, 1989; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1051313/m1/4/: accessed June 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.