Complete Coverage

Researchers Play Catch-Up in Gauging Beyond-School Effects

What's measured in the classroom—what students know and can do—differs from what's currently measured outside—such as motivation and interest

Emerging research shows the science school-age children learn in informal settings—from museums and clubs to online communities and television shows—can have a big impact on their lives. Yet the open format and distinct structures of informal science make it next to impossible for researchers to evaluate the quality of those experiences in the same way they can gauge formal schooling.

School assessments generally focus on cognitive measures, such as what a student knows and can demonstrate about particular content. In contrast, informal learning is dominated by noncognitive measures such as motivation, interest, and identity, according to Larry E. Suter, the National Science Foundation’s program director for informal science education. Moreover, traditional “gold standard” research methods such as randomized controlled trials can be detrimental to activities that base their strength on people’s choosing to participate, rather than being assigned.

Such research raises the risk, Mr. Suter said, that “if you touch it, you’re going to kill that thing...