Developing Assessments for the Next Generation Science Standards

The committee will make recommendations for strategies for developing assessments that validly measure student proficiency in science as laid out in the new K-12 science education framework. The committee will review recent and current, ongoing work in science assessment to determine which aspects of the necessary assessment system for the Framework’s vision can be assessed with available techniques and what additional research and development is required to create an overall assessment system for science education in K-12. The committee will prepare a report that includes a conceptual framework for science assessment in K-12, and will make recommendations to state and national policymakers, research organizations, assessment developers, and study sponsors about the steps needed to develop valid, reliable and fair assessments for the Framework’s vision of science education. The committee’s report will discuss the feasibility and cost of its recommendations.