A Continuum for Assessing Science Process Knowledge in Grades K-6

"While the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1998) call for teaching science content in greater depth at each grade level, they also recognize that students need to learn inquiry processes associated with doing science at all grade levels. More accurate assessments of science process knowledge would provide teachers, parents and district administrators with information on the effectiveness of the enacted curricula, and policy makers with information about the effectiveness of the inquiry based instructional approaches recommended for science teaching and learning. This article reports on the development and implementation of a rubric for assessing science process knowledge in grades K-6. Excerpts from interviews conducted with teachers applying this rubric to assess students' science process knowledge are presented throughout to substantiate claims about the usefulness of the rubric."

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