Race To The Top, The Need For Science Assessment Kits
States are in varying stages of developing their NCLB science assessments. Typically, states contract with assessment companies which have a history of producing standardized, norm referenced tests, e.g., the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), the Tera Nova, the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT-9, SAT-10). These new NCLB science tests must include either criterion-referenced assessments or augmented norm-referenced assessments, or both. The world of the standardized, multiple-choice, norm referenced test is disappearing as standards-aligned, criterion-referenced tests emerge. Because many states' science standards include science inquiry and science process skills that are difficult to assess with conventional multiple-choice questions, more and more science assessments are taking on a different format and look. To assess a student's skills, students must "perform". Performance assessment is moving us "beyond the bubble" of Scantron forms. When student