Development and validation of a test of integrated science process skills

The aim of science education is to help students to understand scientific knowledge and to develop students' ability of the scientific approach to enquiry. The science process skills, along with the knowledge those skills produce are the instructional objectives of Malaysian science education. This paper describes the development and validation of a Test of Integrated Process skill, a paper-and-pencil objective test that has been developed specific to the science content defined in the Malaysian primary school science curriculum. The test is used to measure acquisition in the processes of science. The test assesses performance on a set of integrated science processes associated with planning investigations. They include formulating hypotheses, operationally defining variable, identifying and controlling variables as well as interpreting data. Science process skills are not subject specific. However, these skills operate in conjunction with specific knowledge. Test items were developed so as to be suitable for use with specific knowledge and contain conceptual materials on science as well as requiring the application of component integrated process skills. The Test of Integrated Science Process (TISP) consisted of 30 multiple choice items. Evidence of content validity, construct validity, and reliability are presented. This test with sound psychometric properties will be useful in evaluating the progress in the learning of integrated science process skills in primary school level in Malaysia. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd.