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[Phys-L] Re: WriteCDE (California Standards Test, Physics 2003/04)



Ms. Hernandez!

Thank you much for your reply.

Regarding the following:

Though students statewide performed quite well on both of these
questions, I have indeed forwarded your comments to ETS and the CRP for
their review.


My interpretation is the students "psyched" the test developers, not
that they understood the Physics.

bc

p.s. Note I have copied to PHYS- List

Diane Hernandez wrote:

Dear Mr. Cleyet:
My apologies for the late response; your email was inadvertently
forwarded to the wrong person. First, thank you for sharing your
concerns and the collective responses of your colleagues regarding the
California Standards Test (CST) Released Test Questions in Science. As
you know, the task of developing the CSTs is complex and we, the
California Department of Education (CDE), our testing contractor,
Educational Testing Service, (ETS), and the STAR Content Review Panel
(CRP) for science, strive to ensure that the tests align to standards,
are based on accurate science, employ appropriate grade level
vocabulary, include questions with a range of difficulty, and meet
certain psychometric criteria.
Though students statewide performed quite well on both of these
questions, I have indeed forwarded your comments to ETS and the CRP for
their review. We value your comments and analysis of the questions as
it assists us in the improvement of the CSTs. Thank you.
Best regards,
Diane


Diane Hernandez, Science Consultant
California Department of Education
Standards and Assessment Division
1430 N Street, Suite 5408
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 319-0349 FAX (916) 319-0968
dhernand@cde.ca.gov



Bernard Cleyet <anngeorg@pacbell.net> 01/10/05 3:37 PM >>>


WriteCDE Message
==================

Form Submitted: 1/10/2005 3:37:08 PM
User has a: Comment
Subject: California Standards Test, Physics 2003/04

Message: People!

I am a member of the Physics-L list. I quote from its home page,
"PHYS-L is
a list dedicated to physics and the teaching of physics with about 700
members from over 35 countries, the majority of whom are physics
educators.
Traffic varies from zero to sixty messages/day with an average of about
ten
per day. All postings are archived. Noninflammatory, professional and
courteous postings intended to inform members on how to better
understand,
teach and learn physics are always welcome."

http://physicsed.buffalostate.edu/PHYS-L/

I add, it includes, in addition to HS, College, and University Physics
instructors, specialists in Physics Educational Research (PER) and
Physics
text book writers.

On the fifth of this month a member of the above list posted two
questions
from "your" recently posted Physics Standards. Test.

<http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/documents/css05rtqphysics.pdf>

It resulted in one of the longer threads [44 posts by 21 members] of
the
last few years.

Here's much of the post that initiated the "strand":

-----------------

"'The following released test questions are taken from the Physics
Standards
Test. This test is one of the California Standards Tests administered
as
part of the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program under
policies
set by the State Board of Education.
All questions on the California Standards Tests are evaluated by
committees
of content experts, including teachers and administrators, to ensure
their
appropriateness for measuring the California academic content standards
in
Physics. In addition to content, all items are reviewed and approved
to
ensure their adherence to the principles of fairness and to ensure no
bias
exists with respect to characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, and
language.'

"What do you folks think of the following questions:

3. A student wires a series circuit that includes a
block of rubber and a light bulb. She states that
she does not expect the light bulb to light up
when current is applied to the circuit. Which of
the following best describes her statement?
A It is a conclusion based on observed data
about electrical phenomena.
B It is a hypothesis based on knowledge of the
theory of electrical phenomena.
C It is a procedure based on her hypothesis
about electrical phenomena.
D It is a theory based on her observations of
electrical phenomena.

8. A ball is thrown straight up and then falls
straight back down. When it attains maximum
height, the ball's velocity is A equal to its displacement.
B equal to its displacement divided by the time.
C at its maximum.
D at its minimum."

cut

------------------

The last post (the eighth of this month, two days ago) was the response
by
the initiator of the strand. It follows:

-------------------------------------------
"Thanks to all of you who responded to my original question that
started
this strand. Now I'd like to let you know what I think of these
questions.
Not much obviously. Many of my opinions have already been
mentioned by others.

Problem 3.
i. Current is not applied to a circuit. Current is usually said to be
injected into a circuit.
ii. The logical way to read this question is as follows: Suppose a
certain
amount of current is applied to a circuit containing a light bulb and
it
lights up. Now suppose that I inject the same amount of current into
this
circuit, which now includes a block of rubber. As I
see it, there is no other logical way to interpret this problem. In
this
interpretation, the light bulb will of course light up. So the question
is
immediately confusing. And it indicates that the test writer does not
really understand the difference between current and voltage.
iii. The answers.
If the student had made this circuit at an earlier time, one could
conclude
that her statement is based on her observed data. So A is correct.
If the student knew about the electrical properties of materials and
circuits, but had not done the experiment yet, she could hypothesize
that
the circuit would not light. So B is correct.
If the student knew about the electrical properties of materials and
circuits from previous experiments, she could make a theoretical
prediction
about the behavior of this circuit. So D is correct.
One has to also ask the question: what is the point of this question?
Does this question demonstrate the student has some understanding of
how
science is done? I think not.

Problem 8.
i. As others have pointed out, the question is really asking about the
ball's speed. Since this is a high school level question that
mentions
velocity, one would assume that students (and the test writer) know
the
difference between velocity and speed. Apparently not.
ii. If the ball is thrown up with a velocity of 2 m/s, at the top its
velocity is 0 m/s and it lands with a velocity of -2 m/s, then
obviously the
ball has neither its maximum or minimum velocity at the top. This
assumes that the students (and the test writer) know about negative
numbers.
Therefore, the correct answer is not shown.

I'd give both questions a failing grade."

cut

--------------------------

From the above I hope it is obvious why the questions provoked such a
large
number of responses. It also provoked, reading between the lines,
some
anger.

bc


Return response via: E-mail

Name: Bernard Cleyet
Title:
Organization:
Address: 134 Hawthorn St.
City: Salinas
State: CA
Zip: 93901-3116
Phone: 771 2611
FAX:
Email: anngeorg@pacbell.net