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
Performance-based, requiring children to actively conduct investigations with real materials and demonstrate scientific reasoning processes (e.g., predicting, experimenting, interpreting, and drawing conclusions), rather than relying solely on written responses.
Cautions
Requires one-on-one administration with a trained facilitator and physical materials, making it time- and resource-intensive
This assessment is a performance-based instrument designed to measure children’s scientific reasoning through hands-on inquiry tasks. The test evaluates five key scientific reasoning processes: predicting, experimenting, interpreting data, evaluating data, and drawing conclusions.
The instrument consists of 15 items organized into multiple inquiry cycles, with each process assessed through three tasks of varying complexity. Students engage in guided investigations using physical materials, where they manipulate variables, observe outcomes, and respond to prompts delivered orally by a test administrator. Tasks are structured to reflect authentic inquiry activities, requiring students to design experiments, interpret results, and make evidence-based judgments.
Multiple parallel versions of the test are available, each using different contexts but the same underlying structure. Student responses are recorded and scored using a rubric with dichotomous scoring for each item, allowing scores to be calculated for individual reasoning processes as well as overall performance.
The instrument is designed to assess how children apply scientific reasoning skills in practical, inquiry-based settings with minimal reliance on reading or writing.
Organization
Topic
Collection Category(ies)
Content
Grades
3rd Grade,
4th Grade,
5th Grade
Languages
English
Respondent
Student
Administration Information
Length
15 items, 20 mins
Access and Use
Price
No fee
Psychometrics (additional guidance)
Item Type
Multiple choice
Open response
Task
