Attainment of Selected Earth Science Concepts by Texas High School Seniors

Abstract

This investigation was conducted to determine the degree to which 492 high school seniors in Texas attained five earth science concepts. The study examined the influence of school type and years of science background on the attainment of these concepts. A concept attainment instrument was developed, validated and administered to the seniors sampled in this investigation. The results of this investigation indicated that the enrollment of the school attended by the senior affected whether the concepts were attained, with students in suburban high schools (AAA) attaining more concepts than seniors from small rural high schools (A). In addition, students with more than two years of science coursework attained significantly higher scores on the concept instrument.