Alan M. Voelker

Review of Science Education in Nineteen Countries.

This attempt to compare science education endeavors within and between 19 countries is one of several reports emanating from the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement. Several outcomes of science education were considered: cognitive achievement; practical skills; understanding of the nature of science; interests and attitudes. Reference to measuring these things is, however, the only indication that an ideal structure for the domain of science education was postulated. Consequently, the conservative route was taken, cognitive concerns taking precedence over affective considerations. Achievement test construction occupied the most time and effort, partially due to the studys magnitude but also due to the limitations of the framework. Decisions were usually made in favor of the more easily measured outcomes rather than those outcomes involving difficult procedures. Instruments were judged valid in terms of specific content rather than comprehensive science education. Therefore, the study deals with a limited perspective on science education. A strength of the achievement test construction was organization: four science areas, including physics, biology, chemistry, and earth science; four achievement levels, including the lower three levels of the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Cognitive Domain and a composite of the upper