Checking and assessing the knowledge are regular companions at every step of education. Checking and assessing the knowledge at school can be divided into internal and external checking and assessing the knowledge.
The field of natural sciences and biology in primary school and the first year of secondary school is covered by three external knowledge tests: National Checking of Knowledge (NPZ), Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). PISA research is a study on mathematical, reading and science literacy among pupils, while the TIMSS research explores trends in mathematics and science literacy. NPZ is a form of external checking of knowledge, which is carried out in all Slovenian primary schools. The purpose of NPZ in primary schools is to identify and ensure the quality of schoolwork. NPZ provides feedback on the achievement of the learning objectives and standards of knowledge defined in curricula, to students, parents, teachers, school principals, other professional staff members and experts at the national level, thus facilitating better organization and improvement of pedagogical work.
In the course of the diploma thesis we were interested in what are the typical deficiencies or incorrect answers that occur in pupils’ answers in Biology NPZ in 2017, and what topics covered in the operational objectives of the curricula for natural sciences and biology are not satisfactorily mastered by the pupils. For this purpose, we cooperated with the National Examination Center (RIC) and gained access to 276 completed pupils' tests, which represented a sample for our research. From every pole of our sample, we wrote out all the answers and set the frequencies of individual answers. Then we analysed the collected pupils' answers.
The analysis of pupils' answers in Biology NPZ 2017 showed that pupils at the end of primary education in biology have difficulties in: understanding the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration and transport of substances in plants, understanding the structure of the seed and the asexual reproduction in plants, understanding the exchange of substances in unicellular organisms, planning experiments, knowing the DNA structure, and knowing the structure of individual organ systems in humans. Problems also arise in distinguishing between phenotype and genotype, in understanding biotechnological processes and in understanding the impact of the genetic diversity of the population on its extinction.
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