edited by
J. DUDLEY HERRON Purdue Un8verslty West Latayette, indlana 47907
The ACS-NSTA Chemistry Achievement ExamBeyond Test Results
1) Does achievement differ according to sex? 2) Does achievement differ according to grade level? :3) Does achievement differ accordine to Loneeot classification?
Dorothy L. Gabel Robert D. Sherwood Indiana Uniuersity Rloomington, I N 47405
4)
One of the most widely used chemistry achievement tests administered in the US. is the ACS-NSTA Examination in High School Chemistry. A new form of this test is validated every two years by approximately 5000 chemistry students throughout the country. The test is valuable in not only enabling a chemistry teacher to compare hislher students' achievement with that of other chemistry students, hut also a closer look a t specific items that students miss on the exam helps to determine areas of chemistry that students find most difficult. In the 1977-78 school year the authors administered the ACS-NSTA exam, Form 1975, Part 1, to over 300 students in 7 schools with 10 teachers in central Indiana. Although the specific purpoke of administering the test was to measure
ACS-NSTA Achievement (Sex and Grade)
Table 1:
-
X S.D.
Males
Females
18.11 5.94 202
17.84 6.21 153
F.
Sophomores
20.16 7.05 69
0.022 OR81
n
Table 2. 1.1
Juniors
Seniors
17.90 5.66 227
15.85 5.51 59
3.941 0.020
5
Which items on the test do stud& find most difficult?
Sex and Grade Differences The means and standard deviations according to sex differences are given in Tahle 1. As it was expected, there were no significant differences in achievement according to sex. This confirms data reported by the Examination Committee of ACS. Tahle 1also shows means of achievement scores accordine to the made in which students enroll in chemistrv. ~esulG for soprhomores and juniors confirm those found by the ACS Committee with sophomores performing significantly higher than juniors. A greater difference in achievement is r e ~ o r t e dfor the senior students than data from ACS seem to indicate. In this instance seniors achieved significantly lower than iuniors or souhomores. These analyses of variance findings again are expected considering themrunon practice of permitting talented sophomores to take chemistry and advising less capable juniors to wait until their senior year to take it. Table 4. Item
% Correct
Dlflicult Items from Test
Abbreviated Question Content Most Difflcut Items What Is M a f HCI it 30 cm3 neutralizes 24 cm3 of 0.10 M NaOH? Metals have high conductivity because of? Which is an example of a non-polar molecule that contains polar bonds? Calculation at K, value from moleslliter? What is pH of 0.01 MNaOH soh? What is the M a f 100 cm3 of a sol". containing 1.01g of KNOs? ~~
ACS-NSTA Achievement (Longeot Test) d
chemistry achievement of students usinglnot using models in the classroom ( I ). data from the exam were closely examined in an attempt & answer the following questions.
fi
7-R
~
Next Set of Most Difficult Items
1-3 concrete; 6 6 lower formal; and 7-8 upper formal
Table 3.
Percentage of Students Answering ltem Correctly
Percentaae
Item Number
80%
1. 17.26. 32 2 None
HOWmany grams at CaCOs are needed to prcduce 44.8 I of Con at STP? (Reaction given) Which equation represents the dissoc, of solid CaCIe? Which curve represents the relationship between vol. and O K at constant P. 10 which reaction does high pressure favor tormation of products?. On this K.E. diagram in which region can all collisions result in reactions? What is the % by weight of Iron in FenOs? HOWmany grams of H, will be produced when 6.52g of Zn reacts with excess HzSO,? HOWmany atoms are in one mole of Has? What is vol. in liters occupied by 1.50moles ot 0 2 at STP? AS the cell operates, the substance oxidized is? KClO, is heated until all 0. released, which graph shows change in mass over time? The maximum valtaae tor this cell is?
Volume 56, Number 12, December 1979 / 813
Lonseot Test Results Of perhaps more interest to chemistry teachers are results obtained from the modified Loneeot test. The orieinal Longeot test is a 28-item test translated by ~ h e e h a i(2) that classifies students according to their Piagetian developmental levels (lower concrete, upper concrete, lower formal, upper formal). A shorter 8-item form of the test was administered to the chemistry students a t the beginning of the school year. This test has been used hv Lawson (3) to classifv students for Piagetian research studies and has a reportedreliability of O.fi3. The items on the test involve abstract thinking and proportional reasoning skills. An analysis of students' scores on the ACS-NSTA exam iwcmlin!: to how t h q sc
