Middle Science DTAMS

Primary Documents

Middle Science DTAMS assessments are available in three content domains: Physical Science (PS), Life Science (LS), and Earth/Space Science (ES). Each assessment is composed of 25 items – 20 multiple choice and 5 open response, each with parts (a) and (b). Multiple parallel versions of each assessment are available.

• Downloadable DTAMS Assessments
  
  

  Physical Science (PS)

  123456

  Life Science (LS)

  123456

  Earth/Space Science (ES)

  123456
  
  
• Scoring Guidelines
  
  
  PS Scoring

  LS Scoring

  ES Scoring
  
  
• Subscore Generation
  
  Item Specification Grids indicates which content subscore and which type of knowledge each test item contributes to.

Supporting Documents

• Development process summary
• Middle Science Content Chart (summarizes identification of content across sources)
• Content Subscore Topics (more detail on the content breadth included in each subscore)
• Types of Knowledge Subscore Details (more detail on each type of knowledge)
• Item Specification Grids (mapping specific items onto 2-D chart of breadth & depth)

Selected Papers and Presentations

• Saderholm, J., & Tretter, T. R. (2008). Identification of the most critical content knowledge base for middle school science teachers. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 19(3), 269-283. doi: 10.1007/s10972-008-9092-9
  [detailed description of process for identifying content breadth coverage of PS DTAMS – similar process used for LS and ES]
• Tretter, T. R., Brown, S. L., Bush, W. S., Saderholm, J. C., & Holmes, V. (2013). Valid and reliable science content assessments for science teachers. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 24(2), 269-295. doi: 10.1007/s10972-012-9299-7
  [describes multiple sources of validity & reliability for middle science DTAMS plus results from >4000 teachers nationwide which may serve as useful comparison]
• Tretter, T. R., Philipp, S. B., & Brown, S. L. (2012, March). Characteristics of Teachers and Professional Development that Predict Growth in Life Science Content Knowledge. Paper presented at the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) Annual Conference, Indianapolis, IN.
  Conference Paper
• Tretter, T. R. (2010, May). Strengthening and assessing teachers’ physics content knowledge. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting, Denver, CO.
  Conference Short Paper