Assessing scientific argumentation is one of main challenges in science education. Constructed-response (CR) items can be used to measure the coherence of student ideas and inform science instruction on argumentation. Published research on automated scoring of CR items has been conducted mostly in English writing, rarely in other languages. The…

Helping students develop a sound understanding of scientific concepts can be a major challenge. Lately, learning progressions have received increasing attention as a means to support students in developing understanding of core scientific concepts. At the center of a learning progression is a sequence of developmental levels reflecting an…

Using the US national sample from the 1995 Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), this study examined students' competence levels in understanding the matter concept at grades 3, 4, 7, 8 and high school graduation, and compared them to the expectations in the US national science education standards. It was found that…