A Framework for Assessment of Science Proficiency in K-12

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Assessments, understood as tools for tracking what and how well students have learned, play a critical role in the classroom. Developing Assessments for the Next Generation Science Standards develops an approach to science assessment to meet the vision of science education for the future as it has been elaborated in A Framework for K-12 Science Education (Framework) and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). These documents are brand new and the changes they call for are barely under way, but the new assessments will be needed as soon as states and districts begin the process of implementing the NGSS and changing their approach to science education.

The new Framework and the NGSS are designed to guide educators in significantly altering the way K-12 science is taught. The Framework is aimed at making science education more closely resemble the way scientists actually work and think, and making instruction reflect research on learning that demonstrates the importance of building coherent understandings over time. It structures science education around three dimensions - the practices through which scientists and engineers do their work, the key crosscutting concepts that cut across disciplines, and the core ideas of the disciplines - and argues that they should be interwoven in every aspect of science education, building in sophistication as students progress through grades K-12.

Developing Assessments for the Next Generation Science Standards recommends strategies for developing assessments that yield valid measures of student proficiency in science as described in the new Framework. This report reviews recent and current work in science assessment to determine which aspects of the Framework's vision can be assessed with available techniques and what additional research and development will be needed to support an assessment system that fully meets that vision. The report offers a systems approach to science assessment, in which a range of assessment strategies are designed to answer different kinds of questions with appropriate degrees of specificity and provide results that complement one another.

Developing Assessments for the Next Generation Science Standards makes the case that a science assessment system that meets the Framework's vision should consist of assessments designed to support classroom instruction, assessments designed to monitor science learning on a broader scale, and indicators designed to track opportunity to learn. New standards for science education make clear that new modes of assessment designed to measure the integrated learning they promote are essential. The recommendations of this report will be key to making sure that the dramatic changes in curriculum and instruction signaled by Framework and the NGSS reduce inequities in science education and raise the level of science education for all students.

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288 pages · 8.25 x 10 · paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-28951-3
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-28952-1
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/18409

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National Research Council. 2014. Developing Assessments for the Next Generation Science Standards. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

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James W. Pellegrino

is Liberal Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor and Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). He also serves as Co-director of UIC's interdisciplinary Learning Sciences Research Institute. Dr. Pellegrino's research and development interests focus on children's and adult's thinking and learning and the implications of cognitive research and theory for assessment and instructional practice. Much of his current work is focused on analyses of complex learning and instructional environments, including those incorporating powerful information technology tools, with the goal of better understanding the nature of student learning and the conditions that enhance deep understanding. A special concern of his research is the incorporation of effective formative assessment practices, assisted by technology, to maximize student learning and understanding. Increasingly, his research and writing has focused on the role of cognitive theory and technology in educational reform and translating results from the educational and psychological research arenas into implications for practitioners and policy makers. Dr. Pellegrino has served on numerous NRC boards and committees, including the Board on Testing and Assessment. He co-chaired the NRC committee that authored the report Knowing What Students Know: The Science and Design of Educational Assessment. Most recently he served as a member of the Committee on Conceptual Framework for New Science Education Standards, as well as the Committee on Test Design for K-12 Science Achievement, and the Committee on Science Learning: Games, Simulations and Education. He is a fellow of AERA, and a lifetime national associate of the National Academy of Sciences, and in 2007 he was elected to lifetime membership in the National Academy of Education. Dr. Pellegrino earned his B.A. in psychology from Colgate University and both his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Colorado.

Mark R. Wilson

is professor of Policy, Organization, Measurement, and Evaluation Cognition and Development in the Graduate School of Education at University of California, Berkeley. He is also the developer of the Berkeley Evaluation and Assessment Research Center. His research focuses on educational measurement, survey sampling techniques, modeling, assessment design, and applied statistics. He currently advises the California State Department of Education on assessment issues as a member of the Technical Study Group. He is founding editor of the new journal Measurement: Interdisciplinary Research and Perspectives. Dr. Wilson has extensive experience with NRC projects. He served on the Committee on the Foundations of Assessment; the Committee on Development Outcomes and Assessment for Young Children; the Committee on Value-Added Methodology for Instructional Improvement, Program Evaluation, and Accountability; and the Committee on Best Practices for State Assessment Systems: Improving Assessment while Revisiting Standards. He chaired the Committee on Test Design for K-12 Science Achievement and currently serves on the Board on Testing and Assessment. He has a Ph.D. in measurement and educational statistics from the University of Chicago.

Richard M. Amasino

is Howard Hughes Medical Institute professor with the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His research addresses the mystery of how a plant knows that it has been through a complete winter and that it is now safe to flower in response to the lengthening days of spring. Now, as an HHMI professor, the plant biologist plans to use plant genetics to involve undergraduates in original experiments and to develop appealing, accessible genetics-based teaching units for K-12 science. He has received numerous awards in biological science and was elected as a National Academy of Sciences member in 2006. With the NRC he is currently chair of Section 62: Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences, as well as a section representative for the 2012 NAS Class VI Membership Committee. He received his B.S. in biology from Pennsylvania State University and his M.S., and Ph.D. in biology/biochemistry from Indiana University.

Nancy Butler Songer

is a professor at the University of Michigan. Her research interests focus on preparing all American students to become sophisticated thinkers of science. She is engaged in education research to engage and support complex thinkers of science and to improve science learning in high-poverty, urban, elementary and middle school classrooms. Recent recognition includes election as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and selection by the U.S. Secretary of Education for the Promising Educational Technology Award. In 1995, she received a National Science Foundation Presidential Faculty Fellowship from President Clinton, the first science educator to receive this recognition. Prior to coming to Michigan in 1996, Songer earned a M.S. in developmental biology from Tufts University and a Ph.D. in science education from the University of California, Berkeley.

Edward H. Haertel

is Jacks Family professor of education and associate dean for faculty affairs at the School of Education at Stanford University. His research centers on policy uses of achievement test data; the measurement of school learning; statistical issues in testing and accountability systems; and the impact of testing on curriculum and instruction. Dr. Haertel has been closely involved in the creation and maintenance of California's school accountability system both before and after passage of NCLB and has served on advisory committees for other states and for testing companies. In addition to technical issues in designing accountability systems and quantifying their precision, Dr. Haertel’s work is concerned with validity arguments for high-stakes testing, the logic and implementation of standard setting methods, and comparisons of trends on different tests and in different reporting metrics. He has served as president of the National Council on Measurement in Education and as a member of the National Assessment Governing Board. He is currently serving as chair of the Board on Testing and Assessment and previously was a member of the Committee on Review of Alternative Data Sources for the Limited-English Proficiency Allocation Formula Under Title III, Part A, Elementary and Secondary Education Act. He has served on numerous state and national advisory committees related to educational testing, assessment, and evaluation, including the Joint Committee responsible for the 1999 revision of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. He currently serves on the technical advisory committee for the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, funded by the Race to the Top initiative. He has been a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and is a member of the National Academy of Education. He holds a Ph.D. in measurement, evaluation, and statistical analysis from the University of Chicago.

Joan Herman

is director of the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research has explored the effects of testing on schools and the design of assessment systems to support school planning and instructional improvement. Her recent work has focused on the validity and utility of teachers' formative assessment practices in mathematics and science. She also has wide experience as an evaluator of school reform and is noted in bridging research and practice. She is past president of the California Educational Research Association; has held a variety of leadership positions in the American Educational Research Association and Knowledge Alliance; is a member of the Joint Committee for the Revision of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Measurement, co-chairs of the Board of Education for Para Los Niños and is current editor of Educational Assessment. She currently serves on the technical advisory committee for the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, funded by the USDOE’s Race to the Top initiative. Herman has extensive experience serving on NRC projects. She is currently a member of the Board on Testing and Assessment. She served as a member of the Committee on Test Design for K-12 Science Achievement, the Roundtable on Education Systems and Accountability, and the Committee on Best Practices for State Assessment Systems, and, most recently, chaired the BOTA workshop on 21st Century Skills. Herman received her doctorate of education in learning and instruction from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Richard Lehrer

is professor of science education in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. Previously he has taught in a number of different settings from high school science to the university level. He was also associate director of the National Center for Improving Student Learning and Achievement in Mathematics and Science as well as associate director of the National Center for Research in Mathematical Sciences Education. His research focuses on children's mathematical and scientific reasoning in the context of schooling, with a special emphasis on tools and notations for developing thought. Lehrer has been on a number of NRC committees covering K-12 science education and achievement, including the Committee on Test Design for K-12 Science Achievement. He is currently a member of the NRC study Toward Integrating STEM Education: Developing a Research Agenda. Lehrer received his B.S. in biology and chemistry from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in educational psychology and statistics from the University of New York at Albany.

Scott F. Marion

is a vice president with the National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment, Inc. where his current projects include developing and implementing a framework for evaluating the technical quality of state alternate assessment systems, exploring the instructional usefulness of interim assessment approaches, and helping states design valid accountability systems. Marion has become a recognized national leader in designing statewide assessment and accountability systems under No Child Left Behind and now advises states in their work with the Race to the Top assessment consortia. Previously, Marion served as Wyoming’s assessment director (1999-2003), where he managed the K-12 testing program, the Wyoming Comprehensive Assessment System, overseeing the state’s Uniform Reporting System, and generally overseeing all assessment-related activities at the Wyoming Department of Education. Prior to this he was a part time faculty member in the College of Education, University of Maine where he received his M.A. in science and environmental education. Marion previously served on the NRC’s Committee on Value-Added Methodology for Instructional Improvement, Program Evaluation, and Accountability, and the Committee on Best Practices for State Assessment Systems. A former high school science teacher, Marion received his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Peter McLaren

is a science and technology specialist at the Rhode Island Department of Education, where he has participated in a number of activities related to the Next Generation Science Standards. He also directs the administration of the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) science assessments and co-facilitates the Science Education Leadership Council. Mr. McLaren is also President of the Council of State Science Supervisors (CSSS) and currently serves as a member of the Next Generation Science Standards Writing Team for Achieve. Previously, he was a science teacher for 13 years at both the high school and middle levels. As an educator, McLaren was recognized with the Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award (2001) and as the Rhode Island Science Teacher of the Year (1995) by the Network of Educators of Science and Technology. McLaren has a B.S. in secondary education, and an M.A. in science education, both from the University of Rhode Island.

Knut Neumann

is deputy director of the Department of Physics Education at the Leibniz-Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (IPN) and associate professor of physics education at the University of Kiel, Germany. He studied mathematics and physics for the teaching profession at the University of Düsseldorf. After graduation in 2001, he became a PhD student at the University of Education at Heidelberg. Having received his PhD in 2004 he moved to a post doc position in the Research Group and Graduate School “Teaching and Learning of Science” at the University Duisburg-Essen. In 2009 he was appointed vice head of physics education at IPN and associate professor (with tenure) at the University of Kiel. During his career Neumann developed a special interest in assessment. His dissertation research was concerned with assessing students’ experimental skills. At the University Duisburg-Essen he was part of a group of researchers who worked on what later became the assessment framework for benchmarking the National Education Standards for the science subjects. He currently supervises several projects focusing on the assessment of students understanding of core physics concepts (e.g. energy and matter) and skills (e.g. carrying out experiments). Aside from these activities, his major research interests are the development and empirical validation of learning progressions for core physics concepts and skills as well as the investigation and improvement of instructional quality in physics.

William Penuel

recently joined the faculty at the University of Colorado at Boulder as professor in educational psychology and the learning sciences. Prior to this he was a director of evaluation research with SRI. Penuel’s research focuses on teacher learning and organizational processes that shape the implementation of educational policies, school curricula, and afterschool programs. One strand of his research focuses on designs for teacher professional development in Earth science education. A second strand examines the role of research-practice partnerships in designing supports for teacher learning in school districts. He is currently associate editor of the Social and Institutional Analysis section at the American Educational Research Journal, and he is on the editorial board for Teachers College Record, American Journal of Evaluation, and Cognition and Instruction. Penuel received his Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Clark University.

Helen R. Quinn

is a professor emerita of particle physics at Stanford University where she also serves as education and public outreach manager at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center of Stanford University. Quinn is a theoretical physicist who was inducted into the National Academies in 2003. Her interests include particle physics and K-12 Education. She was an active contributor to the California State Science Curriculum Reforms and is the president of Contemporary Physics Education Project, a world-wide non-profit organization of teachers, educators, and physicists. She is also co-chair of the Stanford K-12 Initiative. Quinn is an internationally recognized theoretical physicist who holds both the Dirac Medal (from Italy) and the Klein Medal (from Sweden) for her contributions to the field. She is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. She served as the president of the American Physical Society in 2004. She is an honorary officer of the Order of Australia. Quinn is currently chair of the NRC Board on Science Education. She has also served on numerous other NRC panels including, most recently, as chair of the Committee on a Conceptual Framework for New Science Education Standards. Quinn received a Ph.D. in physics from Stanford University.

Brian Reiser

is professor of learning sciences in the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University. Reiser’s research examines how to make scientific practices such as argumentation, explanation, and modeling meaningful and effective for classroom teachers and students. This design research investigates the cognitive and social interaction elements of learning environments supporting scientific practices, and design principles for technology-infused curricula that embed science learning in investigations of contextualized data-rich problems. Reiser is also on the leadership team for IQWST (Investigating and Questioning our World through Science and Technology), a collaboration with the University of Michigan, developing a middle school project-based science curriculum. Reiser was a founding member of the first graduate program in learning sciences, created at Northwestern, and chaired the program from 1993, shortly after its inception, until 2001. He was co-principal investigator in the NSF Center for Curriculum Materials in Science, exploring the design and enactment of science curriculum materials. His NRC work includes the recent Committee on a Conceptual Framework for New Science Education Standards and the committee that authored Taking Science to School. Reiser received his Ph.D. in cognitive science from Yale University.

Kathleen Scalise

is an associate professor at the University of Oregon in the Department of Educational Methodology, Policy and Leadership. Her main research areas are technology-enhanced assessments in science and mathematics education, item response models with innovative item types, dynamically delivered content in e-learning, computer adaptive testing, and applications to equity studies. She recently served as a core member of the methodological group for the Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills project created by Cisco, Intel and Microsoft; for the Oregon state task force writing legislation for virtual public schools; as co-director of the UC Berkeley Evaluation and Assessment Research Center (BEAR), and for the U.S. Department of Education on the Race to the Top Assessment competition. She has been a visiting scholar in the Department of Chemistry at UC Berkeley and will be a visiting research scientist with the Department of Neuroscience at Columbia University in 2012-13. She currently is on the expert’s group for PISA 2015, which has major domain focus in science education and collaborative problem-solving for the 2015 assessment cycle. She also served with the Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Resources Division of the California Department of Education for development of the state science framework. Dr. Scalise holds teaching credentials for K-12 physical and life sciences, and has experience in middle and secondary science instruction as well as at the post-secondary and graduate education level in measurement, statistics, instructional technology and analysis of teaching and learning. She received her Ph.D. in quantitative measurement at the University of California, Berkeley, in 2004.

Jerome M. Shaw

is an associate professor of science education at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He has over 30 years experience in education with a focus on understanding and improving science teaching and learning for culturally and linguistically diverse students. As a classroom teacher in California public schools, Shaw taught science at the elementary and secondary levels in mainstream, bilingual (Spanish-English), and structured English immersion classrooms. Shaw's research examines science teaching and learning for culturally and linguistically diverse students with an explicit focus on the relationship of assessment to this larger process. Conceptually, his research agenda explores the overlap among science teaching and learning, assessment of student learning, and equity and diversity issues in education. The unifying theme across these intersections is a focus on English Language Learners. Operationally, Shaw's research program is organized along four strands: (a) clarifying the nature of the achievement gap, (b) identifying fairness issues posed by assessment practices, (c) developing new performance assessments, and (d) enhancing the ability of teachers to provide effective instruction and assessment. These strands, though distinct, are interrelated and complementary. Shaw received a B.A. in spanish, an M.A. in education, and a doctorate in science education, all from Stanford University. He holds a lifetime California teaching credentials for high school biology, Spanish, and social studies as well as multiple elementary subjects coupled with a certificate of bilingual-bicultural competency.

Roberta Tanner

is a physics teacher at Loveland high school in Colorado. She has a keen interest in science and engineering education and a fascination with understanding how people learn. She taught physics, math, engineering and other science courses for 21 years at a high school in the Thompson School District in Loveland, Colorado. Wanting to spur her students to higher levels of achievement, she brought Advanced Placement Physics and integrated Physics/Trigonometry to the district and taught those for 15 years. She also designed and taught Microcomputer Projects, an award winning project-oriented microchip and electrical engineering course. In addition, she was privileged to work for a year as Teacher in Residence with the Physics Education Research group at the University of Colorado, Boulder. There she learned a great deal about how students learn. She also taught introductory Physics at the University of Colorado. Roberta was honored with the International Intel Excellence in Teaching Award in 2004 and the Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence in 2011. She served five years on the Teacher Advisory Council, an advisory board to the National Academy of Science. She also served on a committee of the National Academy of Engineering, investigating the advisability of National K-12 Engineering Standards. In her free time, Roberta likes to bike, hike, and garden. Roberta completed her undergraduate work in Physics and Mechanical Engineering at Kalamazoo College and Michigan State University. She earned her teaching certificate and a Master’s degree in education at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Catherine J. Welch

is professor with the Department of Psychological and Quantitative Foundations and Educational Measurement and Statistics Program at the University of Iowa. In addition to teaching courses in educational measurement and conducting measurement related research, Welch directs the Iowa Testing Programs. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Iowa, she served as an assistant vice president with ACT, where she worked on a variety of assessment programs for over 22 years, predominantly with ACT’s Performance Assessment Center. At ACT, Welch worked with state and national education officials and measurement experts on a broad range of testing issues and became widely recognized as an authority on large-scale assessments. Her research interests include educational assessment, college readiness, validity evaluation, and educational measurement and statistics. Welch has served on the board of directors for the National Council on Measurement in Education, and she recently received the distinguished research award through the Iowa Educational Research and Evaluation Association. Welch received her M.A. and Ph.D. in educational measurement and statistics from the University of Iowa.

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A Framework for Assessment of Science Proficiency in K-12

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A Framework for Assessment of Science Proficiency in K-12

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Developing Assessments for the Next Generation Science Standards

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More like this

Review of the draft United by Nature assessment

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