WHAT EARTH SCIENCE LITERACY PRINCIPLES COULD MEAN FOR THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHERS AND THE FUTURE OF THE NEW YORK REGENTS EXAMS

Our research started with the question “how well are we testing what is considered important?” We address this question by comparing the literacy principles developed by scientists in Earth, ocean, atmosphere, and climate science with the New York Regents Exam in Physical Setting: Earth Science, the longest-running Earth science assessment in the country. Our main goal was to see how well represented the literacy principles are in the Regents Exams since they are what the scientific community deems “important” and have been incorporated into the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Additionally, we analyzed other aspects on the Regents Exams to find out how the literacy principles are assessed.

We analyzed one exam from each decade from 1942 (the second year of the Earth science exam) up until 2012 and every year from 2010 to 2016. We coded each exam question for alignment with the literacy principles, “sphere” addressed (lithosphere, atmosphere, solar system, etc.), level in Bloom’s taxonomy, question type (multiple choice, true/false, etc.), quantitative skills used, and whether or not the reference tables are required.

Results show that in general very few literacy principles are addressed in the exams, with an average of 24 of 192 principles being tested on any test coded. Notably absent are any principles that address systems and the interactions between humans and Earth. The test has undergone significant changes throughout the years. Starting in the 1960s, more questions require a quantitative component, particularly interpreting graphs and tables and quantitative reasoning. The quantitative questions are not well-aligned with the literacy principles and address the use of topographic maps or experiments. Overall, questions at a higher Bloom’s level have increased, especially in the last twenty years. Changes in the test over time can sometimes be explained by current events such as the space race and the development of plate tectonic theory, but a new round of changes will be required to bring the exam in to alignment with the NGSS, adopted by New York in 2016. As exam questions are written by teachers, our research highlights a significant need for professional development in areas traditionally underrepresented in the exams.