The Science Belief Test is an online instrument comprised of 47 statements that require
true or false responses and request written explanations to accompany these responses.
It targets topics in chemistry, physics, biology, earth science, and astronomy and
was initially designed to assess preservice elementary teachers’ beliefs about general
science content. A set of responses for six of the physical science items targeting force/
gravity and physical/chemical change was selected for analysis from 305 respondents.
Written explanations were coded into three general categories: (1) correct explanation,
(2) incorrect explanation, (3) guess or uninterpretable. The correct response rates for
the explanations were compared to the correct response rates that were based on the
accompanying true or false answers. The explanations were further analyzed and
coded into specific categories that included alternative and naïve conceptions. Correct
response rates, when analyzed from the true/false or written explanations, were low
(< 60%) for five of the six items. Naïve beliefs and/or misconceptions were prevalent for
each of these five items, and understanding that students may hold these beliefs prior to
instruction may provide teachers with useful information for the purpose of improving
instruction.