Information About the 2005 Science Assessment
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) science assessment presents a broad view of how well America's students understand and can use scientific knowledge and skills. The science assessment was administered on the national and state level since 1996; however, 2005 was the first administration of science as part of the Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA). For more information on the districts that participated in the TUDA in science, see About Urban Districts.
The science assessment was developed and reviewed by a committee of science and measurement experts to capture the goals of the 2005 science framework. The National Assessment Governing Board, through a comprehensive national process involving science teachers, researchers, measurement experts, policymakers, and members of the general public, created the framework, which describes the goals of the assessment and the kinds of exercises it ought to feature. The Science Development Committee was instrumental in the development of the assessment.
The science assessment consisted of both multiple-choice and constructed-response questions. Students answered questions classified in three major fields of science: Earth science, life science, and physical science. In addition, the NAEP science assessment included hands-on tasks. These performance tasks required students to conduct experiments using materials provided to them. Read more about the importance of performance tasks in the science framework. To understand what these experiments are like, see examples that were released from the 1996 science assessment (as no such items were released from the 2005 science assessment):
Find out more about what the science assessment measures, and read the descriptions of each of the three major fields of science and three characteristic elements of knowing and doing science. Read more about how the assessment was developed, including information about the process used to score constructed-response questions. NAEP science scores are reported on a separate 0–300 scale for each of the three grades assessed. Read more about the NAEP science assessment and the science scale.