Current Projects
NGSA Physical Science: Designing Assessments in Physical Science Across Three Dimensions
The NGSA team is using evidence-centered design and state-of-the-art psychometric methods to develop technology-supported classroom ready assessments for middle school physical science that align with performance expectations in the Next Generation Science Standards.
Learn more: NGSA Physical Science project page.
Equipping Middle School Teachers with Resources to Monitor the Progress of their Students’ Science Learning
This NGSA team will further develop the technology-delivered classroom-ready assessment tasks, rubrics, and accompanying resources for middle school science teachers to gain insights into their students’ proficiency with the Performance Expectations of the NGSS and to eventually cover all three science domains. Completing this work will enable broader classroom use and support the scaling of an assessment system that can be used by schools and districts in NGSS states.
Learn more: NGSA Physical Science project page.
NGSA Life Science: Developing Formative Assessments for Life Science
The NGSA team is using a principled design approach to create technology-based assessments that help science teachers support students in their progress toward achieving the NGSS performance expectations in middle school life science.
Learn more: NGSA Life Science project page.
On the Horizon
The NGSA collaborative team is comprised of experts in science and engineering education, K-12 assessment, technology-supported learning, and curriculum and instruction. Team members have a range of specializations, including evidence-centered design, multi-dimensional validation studies, researcher-practitioner partnerships, and technology integration. NGSA team members are currently pursuing research and development opportunities in the following areas:
- NGSS-aligned assessments for K-12 Engineering Design – K-12 engineering education is gaining traction in the US and we see an urgent need for classroom-ready assessments for teachers to use formatively to gain insights into their students’ progress on achieving the NGSS engineering standards.
- NGSS-aligned assessments for K-12 Earth and Space Science – Teachers in a growing number of states will need assessments to effectively support the integrated learning called for by the NGSS performance expectations in Earth and Space Science.
- Classroom-based assessment systems that bring together instruction, assessment, and professional development – There is a high need for assessment systems that provide comprehensive support to teachers so that they can (1) be informed about their students’ learning in relation to the new standards and (2) be able to respond instructionally in a manner that will advance students’ science proficiency. Such systems will need interconnected components consisting of educative resources and professional development to help increase teachers’ knowledge and expertise for instructional decision-making around NGSS.
- Innovative Curriculum + Assessment + Standards projects – All too often, curriculum development and assessment development initiatives are run independently from each other. We see a pressing need for science curricula and assessments that are aligned to NGSS performance expectations and that work together to support teaching and learning. To ensure strong alignment, large-scale projects that take on both curriculum and assessment, guided by a unifying principled design approach, will be needed.
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