Before Beginning a Unit on Astronomy, a Seventh-Grade Science Teacher

Multiple Choice

Before beginning a unit on astronomy, a seventh-grade science teacher gives students a brief pre-test designed to identify misconceptions they might have about the solar system, asteroids, black holes, and so on. When looking at the students' responses, the teachers should keep in mind three of the following weaknesses of paper-pencil tests. Which point is not necessarily accurate about paper-pencil tests?

A) Children's performance depends on their reading ability.
B) Paper-pencil tests are rarely as reliable as one-on-one interviews.
C) Paper-pencil tests provide little if any information about nonverbal behaviors.
D) Paper-pencil tests provide little if any information about social-emotional factors (e.g., self-confidence) .