AAAS Project 2061 Connections

As a science educator,
you may already know about AAAS Project 2061 Connections, a multi-year effort funded by the National Science Foundation to develop a collection of assessment items and other resources for middle and early high school science. Over the past few years, articles published in Project 2061 Connections have reported on their progress (see, for example, Learning from Wrong Answers, National Sample Puts Assessment Items to the Test, and Bridging Assessment Research and Practice). They are now entering the final phase of the work.

Project 2061 will soon be releasing a beta version of its Science Assessment Resources Web site. If you would be willing to review the site and provide feedback to them, please sign-up. It's easy to register as a reviewer, and, as an extra incentive, the first 100 individuals who register and then submit their review and respond to a brief online survey will receive a complimentary set of the two-volume Atlas of Science Literacy, a $99 value.

When complete, the Web site will include several hundred items for testing students understanding of ideas in 16 topics in physical, life, and earth science. The site will also provide access to national field test data on students' knowledge of those ideas and their misconceptions, along with detailed information on students' performance on each item based on grade level, gender, and primary language.

To make the site more manageable for reviewers, the beta version will include items and resources for only 4 of the 16 topics. They are looking for feedback on the following areas:

• Organization of resources on the site
  
• Ease with which resources can be located and accessed
  
• General navigability of the site
  
• Likely ways in which the web site will be used
  

If you have feedback on other aspects of the site, that would also be welcome. Providing your feedback will be simple and straightforward: the beta site includes text boxes on each Web page where you can enter your comments and suggestions; you will also be asked to complete a short survey about the site and the assessment resources.

To register, please go to http://assessment.p2061.org and follow the directions that are provided. After you have registered, you will receive a confirmation message with directions on how to activate your account and a follow up email with more details on the review process. Please review as soon as possible, but no later than July 11.

Questions? Contact:

George E. DeBoer, Ph.D.
Deputy Director
AAAS Project 2061
Phone: 202-326-6624
Fax: 202-842-5196