A Test And Evaluation Study Into Senior High School Students’ Abilities Of Scientific Inquiry In The Subject Of Chemistry

The study is aimed to evaluate senior high school students’ scientific inquiry abilities based on studies both at home and abroad into evaluating qualities and approaches of scientific inquiry abilities. A sample test is conducted, covering15schools from12districts of Shanghai, with a total of1,839students participating. The test consists of spot observation, worksheet and written test. Testing tools are a combination of original British GCSE coursework and questions from self-constructing test paper. The qualities of the test include collecting information, interpreting information, developing and using scientific ideas, quality of written communication, intrepreting data, analysis of data, evaluationg data, justifying a conclusion, planning further work, working safely and accurately. A combination of Item Response Theory and Classical Test Theory is adopted in the analysis and process of data.In the study, we have explored testing methods of scientific inquiry abilities, made an overall diagnosis of senior high school students’scientific inquiry abilities, and put forward suggestions on course development and teaching practice.The results of the study are listed as follows:1. Choosing collecting information, interpreting information, developing and using scientific ideas, quality of written communication, intrepreting data, analysis of data, evaluationg data, justifying a conclusion, planning further work, working safely and accurately as qualities in the test of students’scientific inquiry abilities, along with elaborating the evaluating criterion of each with a consideration of the features of chemistry, helps reflect both comprehensively and accurately the students’abilities of scientific inquiry in our country.2. More information can be obtained through performance assessment than written test, which, when supplemented to the former, can balance the contradiction between cost and validity of tests.3. Students in our country achieve considerably less in performance assessment than in written tests, which is largely owing to either a lack of emphasis on the cultivation of scientific inquiry abilities in the teaching or a lack of comprehensive guidance of the students.4. Year11students don’t display advantages over Year10ones in their abilities of scientific inquiry.5. Students’ performances in scientific inquiry from model schools against ordinary ones generally accord with sources of the students, whereas urban students have an apparent advantage over their suburban peers.6. There are no remarkable differences between male students and female ones in their performances of scientific inquiry.7. Students’ performance is less than satisfactory in certain techniques throughout their scientific inquiry practice, which should be attached sufficient importance to, elaborated and implemented in our teaching.