美国国家公共电台 NPR National Science Test Scores Are Out, But What Do They Really Tell Us?

National Science Test Scores Are Out, But What Do They Really Tell Us?

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Results are out today on the federal government's nationwide science exams, often dubbed² the Nation's Report Card. It shows that science test scores for fourth and eighth-graders are up a bit, but scores for 12th-graders are flat. That got NPR's Eric Westervelt wondering about the bigger picture - how good is the test at assessing science knowledge?

ERIC WESTERVELT, BYLINE³: The test results out today are a mixed bag. But Education Secretary John King says he's encouraged that fourth and eighth-graders showed some progress and that achievement gaps narrowed in those grades between racial and ethnic⁴ groups.

JOHN KING: All of this means that more students are developing skills like thinking critically, making sense of information and evaluating evidence.

WESTERVELT: But really, how well can a multiple choice and short answer test assess a subject as complex as science? We reached out to scientists and educators, including Nobel laureate Carl Wieman who teaches both physics and education at Stanford University. He's a strong advocate for higher quality learning techniques in science, often called active learning, that limit lecture and textbook time in favor of small-group problem-solving coached by a teacher. After looking at the Nation's Report Card science sample questions, Wieman told me he's seen worse. But, he says, many of the questions are shallow. He's not convinced the tests meaningfully assess scientific thinking.

CARL WIEMAN: There's still a lot of them that are looking at just - did you memorize terminology⁵? - did you memorize some facts? - where there's no concept at all of where a student might be able to use those facts, which, for me, is kind of more meaningful measures of learning.

WESTERVELT: Here's the thing - some schools are currently in the process of adopting new science standards. They're called Next Generation Science Standards. They're research-based and de-emphasize the classic lecture, textbook, lab and test model in favor of more active learning. Sixteen states, so far, have adopted them. Others have incorporated elements into their state standards. Wieman says the Nation's Report Card is missing a chance to better align⁶ its tests with those guidelines. David Evans, director of the National Science Teachers Association, agrees. His group has been instrumental in creating the new standards.

DAVID EVANS: Where students are confronted with a phenomena⁷ and asked to begin to develop their own questions and then engage in the practices of science in order to understand the scientific phenomena or core ideas that are behind it.

WESTERVELT: But how do you check students' progress in this new process? Evans concedes it's a huge challenge.

WESTERVELT: Until someone does, Evans says, states should try to create their own classroom-level assessments⁸.

Eric Westervelt, NPR News.

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

5 terminology   

n.术语；专有名词

参考例句：

• He particularly criticized the terminology in the document.他特别批评了文件中使用的术语。
• The article uses rather specialized musical terminology.这篇文章用了相当专业的音乐术语。

6 align   

vt.使成一线，结盟，调节；vi.成一线，结盟

参考例句：

• Align the ruler and the middle of the paper.使尺子与纸张的中部成一条直线。
• There are signs that the prime minister is aligning himself with the liberals.有迹象表明首相正在与自由党人结盟。

7 phenomena   

n.现象

参考例句：

• Ade couldn't relate the phenomena with any theory he knew.艾德无法用他所知道的任何理论来解释这种现象。
• The object of these experiments was to find the connection,if any,between the two phenomena.这些实验的目的就是探索这两种现象之间的联系，如果存在着任何联系的话。

8 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句