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Student science achievement and the integration of Indigenous knowledge on standardized tests

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Abstract

In this article, we examine how American Indian students in Montana performed on standardized state science assessments when a small number of test items based upon traditional science knowledge from a cultural curriculum, “Indian Education for All”, were included. Montana is the first state in the US to mandate the use of a culturally relevant curriculum in all schools and to incorporate this curriculum into a portion of the standardized assessment items. This study compares White and American Indian student test scores on these particular test items to determine how White and American Indian students perform on culturally relevant test items compared to traditional standard science test items. The connections between student achievement on adapted culturally relevant science test items versus traditional items brings valuable insights to the fields of science education, research on student assessments, and Indigenous studies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Notre Dame of Maryland University, 4701 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD, 21210, USA

    Juliann Dupuis

  2. Department of Education, University of New Hampshire, 302 Morrill Hall, Durham, NH, 03824, USA

    Eleanor Abrams

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  1. Juliann Dupuis
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  2. Eleanor Abrams
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Correspondence to Juliann Dupuis.

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Lead Editor: A. L. Tan.

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Dupuis, J., Abrams, E. Student science achievement and the integration of Indigenous knowledge on standardized tests. Cult Stud of Sci Educ 12, 581–604 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-016-9728-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-016-9728-6

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