Assessments
There are six types of assessments for each investigation:
- A pre/posttest
- A summative assessment for the investigation
- Formative and summative assessment for the phenomenon
- Formative assessment questions for checkpoints
- A Key Questions document
- An Investigation Answer Key
Pretest/Posttest
The purpose of this short multiple choice test is to assess learning gains by administering the same test before and after the investigation. The test is designed to emphasize data interpretation instead of content knowledge. The file is downloadable and comes with an answer key that is correlated to NGSS three-dimensional learning.
Summative (for the investigation)
The summative assessment is provided as a downloadable file that is separate from the investigation. This assessment is more open-ended and may involve sketches or calculations. The file is downloadable and comes with a rubric and scoring guide.
Summative (for the phenomenon)
The summative piece for the phenomenon invites students to revisit what they have learned and apply it to address new questions or models.
Formative
In each investigation we identify some checkpoints—places where you may wish to pause to review your students’ thinking––and offer additional learning supports before proceeding to the next section. The suggested checkpoints are places where students should have acquired key skills and understandings needed in subsequent sections of the investigation. The checkpoints reference tables that pair key student understandings with questions or suggestions for assessment.
There are lots of great ways to do formative assessment, and we want you to have the flexibility to use the methods you and your students are familiar with. If you are new to formative assessment, here are some popular techniques:
- Driving Question Boards
- The BSCS 5E model
- CER (Claims, Evidence, Reasoning) Model
- KLEWS charts
- Journaling–this could be in the form of a science notebook, a digital science notebook, or an exit ticket
- Posters/ whiteboards
- Discussion techniques
The Center for Astronomy Education lists numerous classroom resources such as instructional strategies and question banks that can be used for formative assessment.
Page Keely has compiled creative and engaging formative assessment strategies in a series of books, such as Uncovering Student Ideas in Astronomy.
Key Questions
Perhaps you're looking for an alternative way to assess student understanding without having to grade every question on a completed student answer sheet. The Key Questions table provides a short list of questions from the investigation that can be used as a spot check for summary understanding.
Investigation Answer Key
This may be used as a general guide to check your understanding of the questions in the investigation, but it is not meant to be used as a defacto key. Many questions in the investigations are designed to be open-ended and have no single correct answer. Additionally, sections in each investigation contain randomized data so not all students work with the same observations.