Evaluation of Procedure‐Based Scoring for Hands‐On Science Assessment

This article evaluates a procedure‐based scoring system for a performance assessment (an observed paper towels investigation) and a notebook surrogate completed by fifth‐grade students varying in hands‐on science experience. Results suggested interrater reliability of scores for observed performance and notebooks was adequate (>.80) with the reliability of the former higher. In contrast, interrater agreement on procedures was higher for observed hands‐on performance (.92) than for notebooks (.66). Moreover, for the notebooks, the reliability of scores and agreement on procedures varied by student experience, but this was not so for observed performance. Both the observed‐performance and notebook measures correlated less with traditional ability than did a multiple‐choice science achievement test. The correlation between the two performance assessments and the multiple‐choice test was only moderate (mean = .46), suggesting that different aspects of science achievement have been measured. Finally, the correlation between the observed‐performance scores and the notebook scores was .83, suggesting that notebooks may provide a reasonable, albeit less reliable, surrogate for the observed hands‐on performance of students.