2006 National Assessment of Biology in the First Grade of Secondary Education in Flanders (A-stream)

In 2006 a national assessment was carried out, which was commissioned by the Flemish government, to assess the extent to which students have achieved the attainment targets for biology at the end of the first grade of secondary education (A-stream). Data were collected through seven written tests covering three clusters of attainment targets: (a) the basics of life, (b) the human body and (c) the nature around us. A representative sample of 4735 students from 124 Flemish secondary schools participated. Each student participated in four written tests. In addition, several performance assessments were administered to a subsample of 1036 students to assess certain research skills. Tests were supplemented with questionnaires for students, parents and biology teachers. The student questionnaire included questions about themselves and their perceptions of the biology classes. The parent questionnaire collected information on their child and the family situation. The biology teachers were, among other things, questioned about themselves and their classroom practices. The response rates to the questionnaires were 96% for the parent questionnaire and 85% for the teacher questionnaire.