| Summary |
The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the presence of traditional classroom assessment (tests and quizzes) and science achievement of students in elementary science methods courses at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. A further objective of this study was to determine if students' perceptions about a particular class situation (testing or nontesting) have an effect on how they respond to the class or subject being covered by use of a 14-item open-ended questionnaire. Students were divided into testing groups (those that received traditional testing throughout semester) and nontesting groups (those that received no traditional testing, only projects). A pretest-posttest nonequivalent group design was utilized for this quasi-experimental study. The independent variable was the presence or absence of traditional testing in the science classroom. The dependent variables were the achievement in or the understanding of science as measured by the Test of Integrated Process Skills (TIPS) and the Science Test for Elementary Methods (STEM). Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used as the data analysis procedure. No significant differences existed between the science achievement of elementary science method students in testing situations and those not in testing situations as measured by the TIPS and the STEM. Responses to the questionnaire, developed for the study, were categorized and chi-square analysis was used. Four significant differences were found between the treatment groups dealing with notetaking, utilization of those notes, and overall perceptions toward a particular class situation. The other questionnaire responses, although not significant, were useful in explaining how students respond to particular class situations, testing or nontesting. |
