Subject-specific science teachers’ views of alternative assessment

Multiple choice tests, true-false tests and short-answer questions as the commonly used traditional assessment tests include a limited number of options suggested by teachers (DeMauro, Helphrey, Schram, & Spiekermann, 2001; Dikli, 2003) and focus superficial knowledge on assessing lower-order skills (Miesels, 1995). In a similar vein, classical tests do not provide detailed information about students’ development and are ineffective in facilitating students’ understanding (Şaşmaz Ören and Tatar, 2007; Zessoules and Gardner, 1991). On the other hand, alternative assessment approaches (e.g., open-ended questions, exhibition, demonstration, experimental practices based on hand skills, computer simulations, concept maps, performance evaluation, self-peer assessment and portfolios) are more realistic, and student-centered as compared to traditional one (Naser, 2008; Struyven, Dochy, Janssens, Schelfhout, & Gielen, 2006).

Competitive learning environments in a globalized world require strong mathematics and science skills for young students. Unfortunately, Turkey has fallen behind industrialized/developing countries given international examination scores such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS, 2013) and Program for International Students Assessment (PISA 2013). Since highly industrialized/developed countries (i.e., Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan) have consistently performed the best scores on the aforementioned examinations (Evans, 2014), the quality and status of teaching and assessment are viewed as the most important common factor to achieve relevant goals in science curricula. Further, teachers play a pivotal role in achieving these goals in practicum (i.e., Çalık & Cobern, 2017).

Alternative assessment determines how learning occurs and progresses rather than learning outcomes/scores in traditional assessment. Hence, it not only handles learning process as a whole but also assesses learning process and outcome together within a multiple framework. Alternative assessment gives an opportunity for teachers to monitor and see student learning/development. Thereby, students may get effective feedbacks for their learning as well as parents may be well-informed about their children’s capacities. Given complementary roles of alternative assessment in learning process, Ministry of National Education (MoNE) in Turkey has paid more attention to its usage in school. As a result, MoNE has integrated the alternative assessment into all school curricula (Baki, 2008; Çalık & Ayas, 2008; Çalık, 2016).

Dramatically changes of measurement-assessment in science curricula (Care, Scoular & Griffin, 2016) require teachers to re-build their own competencies, knowledge and self-confidence of measurement and assessment, especially alternative assessment. However, the related literature denotes that teachers lack of these new requirements of the alternative assessment and have pitfalls in effectively implementing messages/demands from curricula (Aydın, 2005; Bulut, 2006; Cheng, 2006; Çakır and Çimer, 2007). Similarly, pre-service teachers have similar deficiencies in comprehending alternative assessment (Çalık, 2007; Yayla, 2011). This means that both in-service and pre-service teachers need to be equipped with the requirements of the alternative assessment. To highlight content and context of the alternative assessment in any in-service and/or pre-service education, teachers’ competencies and self-confidence levels should be investigated. Because Turkish MoNE has employed a positive discrimination towards females, the current study involved gender as a variable (Osborne et al., 2003; Kurbanoğlu, 2014; Çalık et al., 2015). Hence, the author would like to test whether gender variable influences subject-specific science teachers’ views of alternative assessment. The current study purposes to fill in this gap in related literature by discovering subject-specific science teachers’ views of the alternative assessment.