Development began with clarifying the content domain of the assessment.
Science Content Domain
The science content targeted by each assessment was determined by the content clarification. The content clarification includes the targeted benchmark(s) along with sub-ideas “unpacked” from these benchmarks at the student and teacher level. More information about the content clarification can be found in Content Clarification.
Types of Teacher Items
In addition to specifying the science content domain, ATLAST specified the kinds of teacher knowledge the assessment would measure. After investigating different domains of teacher knowledge in specific content areas, it was determined that only knowledge of science content could be measured with validity in a multiple choice format. However, knowledge of science content is measured in three different ways:
- Knowledge of science content (Level 1 items);
- Using content knowledge to analyze/diagnose student thinking (Level 2 items); and
- Using content knowledge to make instructional decisions (Level 3 items).
A more detailed description of the the three types of teacher multiple-choice items is in Teacher Item Types.