Using Assessment in the Service of Teaching and Learning in Middle School Science and Mathematics

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Assessment is a tool that can serve teaching and learning by providing teachers with a broader perspective on the knowledge students bring with them as they approach learning. It also can help teachers to understand students' progress toward desired learning goals. Therefore the purpose of this project is to develop: (1) a model which a community of professionals at a local level can use as a construct to integrate assessment with instruction in the service of teaching and learning science and mathematics; and (2) a sample set of assessment techniques and strategies for selected topics in middle school science and mathematics that exemplify the outcomes of implementing the above model. Communities of professionals including mathematicians, scientists, and a measurement expert mathematics and science teachers and teacher educators are to be engaged in the development of the model and the set of exemplary assessment products. These communities will (1) decide on learning goals in line with the newest definitions of science and mathematics literacy; and (2) determine what will count as evidence to indicate the extent to which these goals are met. Teachers will (3) look for such evidence in multiple ways including student learning journals and video recordings. We will document and analyze the collaborative process involved in creating assessment practices that serve instruction so that the process can be used effectively in other settings.