Assessment developers are increasingly using the developing technology of machine learning in transforming how to assess students in their science learning. I argue that these algorithmic models further embed the structures of inequality that are pervasive in the development of science assessments in how they legitimize certain language practices…

Recent reforms in science education advocate for a vision of learning where students "figure out" science ideas through engagement in science practices. Consequently, there have been significant efforts to engage K-12 students in the science practices. However, less research attention has been given to understand how this…

This study examined how high school students' attitudes toward advanced physics were predicted by their sense of school belonging, and how gender moderated this relationship. The Trends in International Math and Science (TIMSS) 2015 Advanced data, consisting of responses from 12th grade students enrolled in advanced physics courses among nine…

This paper describes HASbot, an automated text scoring and real-time feedback system designed to support student revision of scientific arguments. Students submit open-ended text responses to explain how their data support claims and how the limitations of their data affect the uncertainty of their explanations. HASbot automatically scores these…

Research has indicated the importance of representational competence for learning science. Issues related to the nature of students' representational competence, such as how they demonstrate representational competence across different domains of science, require investigation. In the present study, four aspects of representational competence…

Recent work examining science test performance in the earliest grades of school has demonstrated that science test score gaps by race/ethnicity are apparent as early as kindergarten and that, in a number of cases, the racial/ethnic test score gaps in science are significantly larger than the corresponding gaps in reading or mathematics. This study…

The "Framework for K-12 Science Education" (NRC; 2012) placed renewed emphasis on creating equitable science learning opportunities for all learners by engaging in three-dimensional learning experiences: disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science and engineering practices. Additionally, the "Framework" calls…

In a cluster-randomized study, we investigate the impact of an argument-based approach to teaching science in elementary school on science learning and critical thinking skills. Forty-eight schools participated in the study, with data on 9,963 students across the 2 years of the intervention. Annual standardized tests assessing science content…

We describe the development, validation, and use of the "Learning Progression-Based Assessment of Modern Genetics" (LPA-MG) in a high school biology context. Items were constructed based on a current learning progression framework for genetics (Shea & Duncan, 2013; Todd & Kenyon, 2015). The 34-item instrument, which was tied to…

Longitudinal studies can provide significant insights into how students develop competence in a topic or subject area over time. However, there are many barriers, such as retention of students in the study and the complexity of data analysis, that make these studies rare. Here, we present how a statistical framework, discrete-time survival…

Multiple-choice (MC) items that are constructed such that distractors target known misconceptions for a particular domain provide useful diagnostic information about student misconceptions (Herrmann-Abell & DeBoer, 2011, 2014; Sadler, 1998). Item response theory models can be used to examine misconceptions distractor-driven multiple-choice…

Previous research in science education has suggested that difficulties among students learning science relate to challenges in framing its discourse. This article examines the role that language plays in a scientific literacy test for which everyday life is an augmented aspect. Video-recorded data was collected in four ninth-grade science classes…

Teachers often engage in curricular planning by critiquing and adapting existing curriculum materials to contextualize lessons and compensate for their deficiencies. Designing instruction for students is shaped by teachers' ability to apply a variety of personal resources, including their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). This study…

As part of becoming scientifically literate, students should come to appreciate epistemic aspects of science. Little research has been conducted on elementary students' epistemological beliefs specific to science education. This study offers insights into third-grade students' epistemological beliefs while paying attention to the intersection of…

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act requires states to measure the adequate yearly progress (AYP) of each public school and local educational agency (LEA) and to hold schools and LEAs accountable for failing to make AYP. Although it is required that science be assessed in at least three grades, the achievement results from science examinations are…