Throughout the report the committee offers examples of assessment tasks that embody our approach and demonstrate what we think will be needed to measure science learning as described in the framework and the NGSS. Because the final version of the NGSS was not available until we had nearly completed work on this report, none of the examples was specifically aligned with the NGSS per- formance expectations. However, the examples reflect the ideas about teaching, learning, and assessment that influenced the framework and the NGSS, and they can serve as models of assessment tasks that measure both science content and practice.8 The examples have all been used in practice and appear in Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 5: see Table 1-1 for a summary of the example tasks included in the
8These examples were developed by committee members and other researchers prior to this
TABLE 1-1 Guide to Examples of Assessment Tasks in the Report
Chapter and Example Disciplinary Core Ideaa Practices Crosscutting Concepts Grade Level
1 What Is Going on Inside Me? (Chapter 2)
PS1: Matter and its interactions LS1: From molecules to organisms: Structures and processes Constructing explanations Engaging in argument from evidence
Energy and matter: flows, cycles, and conservation
Middle school
2 Pinball Car
(Chapter 3) PS3: Energy Planning and carrying out investigations Energy and matter: flows, cycles, and conservation Middle school 3 Measuring Silkworms (Chapters 3 and 4)
LS1.A: Structure and function: Organisms have macroscopic structures that allow for growth
LS1.B Growth and development of organisms: Organisms have unique and diverse life cycles
Asking questions Planning and carrying out investigations Analyzing and interpreting data Using mathematics Constructing explanations Engaging in argument from evidence Communicating information Patterns Grade 3 4 Behavior of Air (Chapter 4)
PS1: Matter and its interactions
Developing and using models
Engaging in argument from evidence
Energy and matter: flows, cycles, and conservation. Systems and system models Middle school 5 Movement of Water (Chapter 4)
ESS2: Earth’s systems Developing and using models
Constructing explanations
Systems and system models Middle school 6 Biodiversity in the Schoolyard (Chapter 4) LS4: Biological evolution: Unity and diversity
Planning and carrying out investigationsb Analyzing and interpreting data Constructing explanations Patterns Grade 5
Chapter and Example Disciplinary Core Ideaa Practices Crosscutting Concepts Grade Level 7 Climate Change (Chapter 4) LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, energy, and dynamics ESS3-5: Earth and human activity
Analyzing and interpreting data Using a model to predict phenomena
System and system models High school 8 Ecosystems (Chapter 4) LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, energy, and dynamics
Planning and carrying out investigations and interpreting patterns
Systems and system models Patterns 9 Photosyntheses and Plant Evolution (Chapter 5) LS4: Biological evolution: Unity and diversity
Developing and using models Analyzing and interpreting data Using mathematics and computational thinking Constructing explanations
Systems and system models Patterns High school 10 Sinking and Floating (Chapter 5) PS2: Motion and stability Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information Asking questions Planning and carrying out investigations Analyzing and interpreting data Engaging in argument from evidence
Cause and effect Stability and change
Grade 2
11 Plate Tectonics (Chapter 5)
ESS2: Earth’s systems Developing and using models Constructing explanations Patterns Scale, proportion, and quantity Middle school
a ESS = earth and space sciences; LS = life sciences; PS = physical sciences. The disciplinary codes are taken from
the new science framework: see Box 2-1 in Chapter 2.
bThis example focuses on carrying out an investigation. TABLE 1-1 Continued
report and the disciplinary core ideas, practices, and crosscutting concepts that they are intended to measure.
The report is structured around the steps that will be required to develop assessments to evaluate students’ proficiency with the NGSS performance expec- tations, and we use the examples to illustrate those steps. The report begins, in Chapter 2, with an examination of what the new science framework and the NGSS require of assessments. The NGSS and framework emphasize that science learning involves the active engagement of scientific and engineering practices in the context of disciplinary core ideas and crosscutting concepts—a type of learn- ing that we refer to as “three-dimensional learning.” The first of our example assessment tasks appears in this chapter to demonstrate what three-dimensional learning involves and how it might be assessed.
Chapter 3 provides an overview of the fundamentals of assessment design. In the chapter, we discuss “principled” approaches to assessment design: they are principled in that they provide a methodical and systematic approach to designing assessment tasks that elicit performances that accurately reflect students’ profi- ciency. We use the example assessment task in the chapter to illustrate this type of approach to developing assessments.
Chapter 4 focuses on the design of classroom assessment tasks that can mea- sure the performance expectations in the NGSS. The chapter addresses assessment tasks that are administered in the classroom for both formative and summative purposes. We elaborate on strategies for designing assessment tasks that can be used for either of these assessment purposes, and we include examples to illustrate the strategies.
Chapter 5 moves beyond the classroom setting and focuses on assessments designed to monitor science learning across the country, such as to document stu- dents’ science achievement across time; to compare student performance across schools, districts, or states; or to evaluate the effectiveness of certain curricula or instructional practices. The chapter addresses strategies for designing assess- ment tasks that can be administered on a large scale, such as to all students in a school, district, or state. The chapter addresses the technical measurement issues associated with designing assessments (i.e., assembling groups of tasks into tests, administering them, and scoring the responses) so that the resulting performance data provide reliable, valid, and fair information that can be used for a specific monitoring purpose.
Chapter 6 discusses approaches to developing a coherent system of cur- ricula, instruction, and assessments that together support and evaluate students’ science learning.
Finally, in Chapter 7 we address feasibility issues and explore the challenges associated with implementing the assessment strategies that we recommend. Those challenges include the central one of accurately assessing the science learning of all students, particularly while substantial change is under way. The equity issues that are part of this challenge are addressed in Chapter 7 and elsewhere in the report.
T
he committee’s charge is to recommend best practices for developing reli- able and valid assessments that measure student proficiency in science as conceptualized in A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices,Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas (National Research Council, 2012a, here-
after referred to as “the framework”) and the Next Generation Science Standards:
For States, By States (NGSS Lead States, 2013). In this chapter, we review the
main features of these two documents with respect to the assessment challenges they pose.1