The Assessment of Certain Concepts Held by Selected Children Using Individual Interviews and the Copes Test of Science Concepts: A Comparison of the Results and a Contribution Toward Improving the Test.

The Conceptually Oriented Program in Elementary Science (COPES) Test of Science Concepts was administered to all children in a grade four and a grade six class after completion of a unit from the COPES materials. A semi-standardized interview schedule was used to interview selected pupils. Tapes of these interviews were rated independently by three judges with respect to 31 items assessing the child's concept adequacy. The judges' ratings were compared with the written responses to the COPES test and the limitations of the test identified. The accuracy of the COPES test appears to be limited by: non-science vocabulary; test format; procedural tasks; sentence length and complexity; words creating misleading mental sets; questions contradictory to response to a previous question; and inclusion of designated best choice statements which, by some children's interpretations, are fully consistent with their adequate concepts. (Author/AL)