Published in volume 3 number 1, 27 March 2010
Brief science performance
evaluation on 8th grade students
Gabriela Mocanu, Babes-Bolyai University (Romania)
Abstract: This paper aims to provide some statistics concerning
the science performance of a group of 59 8th graders, studying in
three different classes (may be regarded as different study groups). Eight
science items were used, two from each content domain: chemistry, biology,
mathematics and physics. These items were taken from the 2007 edition of the
TIMSS test and slightly adapted. Students were graded separately for a correct
answer and for the explanation why they chose/gave the answer. Results of the
applied test are presented in a graphical format. The authors did not develop a
grading system and did not use the one provided by the TIMSS documentation
because the number of items used is mall, and a parallel between the results in
this study and the TIMSS would not be valid. A very good percentage of the
students chose/gave the correct answer but a much lower percentage provided the
correct and complete explanation for this answer. Also, from the interpretation
of the results it seems that boys score slightly higher than girls and that the
mathematics content was more accessible.
Key words: science content, cognitive skills, evaluation
Received 6 February 2010, accepted 20 February 2010
Pages 11-18.
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