Diagnostic Teacher Assessment of Mathematics and Science (DTAMS): Middle Science Teacher Assessments

Diagnostic Science Assessments for Middle School Teachers are written tests that measure mathematics knowledge in three content domains (Physical Science; Life Science; Earth/Space Science) and across four types of knowledge (Declarative Knowledge; Scientific Inquiry and Procedures; Schematic Knowledge; Pedagogical Content Knowledge). Researchers, professional development providers, and course instructors can administer the assessments as pre- and post-tests before and after workshops, institutes, or courses to determine growth in teachers' content knowledge. Multiple parallel versions of each assessment are available.

Content

Category
Sub-Category
Domains
Teacher Knowledge
Grades
6th Grade,
7th Grade,
8th Grade
Languages
English
Respondent
Teacher

Administration Information

Length
25 items (20 multiple-choice and 5 open-response). Participants usually take between 30-50 minutes to complete the assessment, with the bulk of participants taking about 40 minutes.

Access and Use

Price

Free

Contact
Open Access
Yes

Psychometrics

Scoring
Computer scoring,
Manual scoring
Psychometric References

Ronfeldt, M., & Truwit, M. (2023). Considerations for use of teaching quality measures. EdInstruments Brief, Annenberg Institute for School Reform, Brown University. www.edinstruments.com/teaching.

Tretter, T. R., Brown, S. L., Bush, W. S., Saderholm, J. C., & Holmes, V. L. (2013). Valid and reliable science content assessments for science teachers. Journal of Science Teacher Education24(2), 269-295. https://www.doi.org/10.1007/s10972-012-9299-7

Psychometric Considerations

Psychometrics is the science of psychological assessment. A primary goal of EdInstruments is to provide information on crucial psychometric topics including Validity and Reliability – essential concepts of evaluation, which indicate how well an instrument measures a construct - as well as additional properties that are worthy of consideration when selecting an instrument of measurement.

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