Tier 1 Instructional Strategies To Improve K-4 Reading Comprehension
Category: Student Learning
Instrument Overview
Expert Notes AvailableView expert commentary on strengths and cautions for this instrument
Strengths
Standards-aligned and designed around “big ideas” in science, ensuring close alignment with the taught curriculum and providing a targeted measure of students’ conceptual understanding.
Cautions
Primarily assesses students through fixed-item responses (e.g., selected-response questions), which may not fully capture students’ deeper reasoning or ability to apply science concepts in authentic, inquiry-based contexts.
The Big Ideas in Science Assessment (BISA) is a curriculum-based science assessment designed to measure students’ understanding of core scientific concepts aligned with standards. The instrument is structured around “big ideas” in science, emphasizing key conceptual understandings rather than isolated facts.
The assessment consists of 30 items that evaluate students’ knowledge of scientific principles, concepts, and inquiry processes addressed in instruction. It is administered as both a pre- and post-test to measure changes in students’ science achievement over time.
Organization
Topic
Collection Category(ies)
Content
Grades
5th Grade
Languages
English
Respondent
Student
Administration Information
Length
30 items
Access and Use
Developer
Beverly Irby (Texas A&M University)
Contact
beverly.irby@exchange.tamu.edu, a-lara@exchange.tamu.edu
Open Access
No
Psychometrics (additional guidance)
Psychometric References
Irby, B.J., Tong, F., Lara-Alecio, R., Tang, S., Guerrero, C., Wang, Z., & Zhen, F. (2021). Investigating the impact of a literacy-infused science intervention on economically challenged students’ science achievement: A case study from a rural district in Texas. Science Insights Education Frontiers, 9(1):1123-1141.
Lara-Alecio, R., Irby, B. J., Tong, F., Guerrero, C., Koch, J., & Sutton-Jones, K. L. (2018). Assessing conceptual understanding via literacy-infused, inquiry-based science among middle school English learners and economically-challenged students. Education Sciences, 8(1), 27.
Item Type
Multiple choice
