The effects of content, format, and inquiry level on science performance assessment scores

In this study, we investigated 3 factors that may contribute to the large v ariation in student performance across open-ended measures. These factors a re content domain, format (whether the task required only pencil and paper or involved a hands-on manipulation of equipment), and level of inquiry (wh ether the task guided the student toward the solution or required the stude nt to develop a solution strategy). A group of 6 similar investigations of acids and bases were developed from a common shell that controlled for form at and level of inquiry. Students completed 2 of these tasks as well as tas ks drawn from other content areas and a multiple-choice test of science. Re sults did not bear out the hypothesis that tasks that were similar to each other in content, level of inquiry, and format would correlate higher with each other than with measures that differed on these dimensions. Post hoc a nalyses of the tasks revealed unanticipated differences in developers' inte rpretation of the shell that may have affected student performance. Implica tions for large-scale use of performance measures are discussed.