Literature indicates that science content knowledge has long presented difficulties for preservice elementary teachers. Analyses of 473 scores from participants' attempts on an elementary certification exam, the TExES EC-6 Core Subjects, Science (804), were analyzed for this study to determine the impact of a physical science intervention that included demonstration lessons, microteaching, and reflection as part of a science methods course on science content knowledge. Analyses of scores for participants making repeat attempts to pass indicated that scores were higher for attempts made after participation in the physical science intervention than attempts made before participation. Of 104 participants who made initial unsuccessful attempts and repeat attempts, the 89 attempts made after participation in the physical science intervention had a mean scaled score of 238.24 (SD = 14.93) while the mean score for the 15 attempts made before participation in the intervention was 219.73 (SD = 20.04). The difference between the mean scaled score for these two groups was statistically significant, t = -4.21, df = 102, p<.001. Score reports from Hispanic/Latino and from White/Non-Hispanic participants who passed on the first attempt (n = 85, MS = 259.82, SD = 12.04 and n = 226, MS = 264.12, SD = 11.92, respectively) were compared to score reports from Hispanic/Latino and White/Non-Hispanic participants who were not successful on the initial attempt and made repeat attempts (n = 32, MS = 235.31, SD = 14.86 and n = 51, MS = 240.06, SD = 15.13). Analysis indicated that there was statistically significant difference in mean scaled scores between the groups who passed the initial attempt (t = -2.83, df = 309, p = .005) while there was no statistically significant difference in the mean scaled scores when comparing Hispanic/Latino and White/Non-Hispanic participants completing multiple attempts (t = -1.40, df = 81, p = .165). A final analysis indicated that for White/Non-Hispanic participants who were not successful on their initial attempt and made multiple attempts, the mean scaled score was higher for attempts made after participation in the intervention (n = 51, MS = 240.06, SD = 15.13) when compared to the mean scaled score of attempts made before participation (n = 12, MS = 225.50, SD = 14.71). The difference in the means of these scaled scores was statistically significant (t = -3.01, df = 61, p =.004).
