Center for Standards, Assessment, and Accountability

Subject Area: Science

Edutopia – Curriculum Planning

The Edutopia website’s page for curriculum planning provides various resources to help educators create year-long instructional plans. Two key resources include the guide for curriculum planning and the series of videos that illustrate different case studies of curriculum planning examples from around the country.

Teaching is the Core Assessment Literacy Series

The EngageNY “Teaching is the Core Assessment Literacy” webinar provides useful guidance for both teachers and districts regarding designing, interpreting, and using assessments to inform instruction and support learning. The video series is broken into 5 webinars led by international classroom expert, Dr. Sue Brookhart – The Assessment Review Process, Performance Assessment, Test Construction, Action […]

Eurekus: STEAM Powered Discovery

As a US2020 STEM Mentoring Awards Finalist in 2015, Eurekus provides resources to support STEM learning through the Arts & Making. The organization offers school programs, educator workshops, and maker events. In particular, the website also provides dozens of STEAM lessons and curriculum ideas.

What Exactly Do “Fewer, Clearer, and Higher Standards” Really Look Like in the Classroom? Using a Cognitive Rigor Matrix to Analyze Curriculum, Plan Lessons, and Implement Assessments

From the abstract: “With the ever-increasing call for more rigorous curriculum, instruction, and assessment in the United States, the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers are aiming to define the rigorous skills and knowledge that students need in order to succeed academically in college-entry courses and in workforce training programs […]

Teaching Content to English Learners in the Era of the Common Core Standards

What are instructional implications for College and Career Ready Standards, such as the Common Core, on English learners (ELs) and their teachers? This question is addressed in an essay by researchers from ETS. R&D Connections, a publication series from ETS Research & Development, examines research conducted by ETS scientists and is written in nontechnical language. […]

Assessment System Design Options for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Reflections on Some Possible Design Approaches

The need for a comprehensive and cohesive system of assessments, to effectively support implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), has been recommended and emphasized. This paper provides a thoughtful analysis of high-level designs for a system of assessments to effectively support the NGSS. Policymakers will find this paper informative, as it includes a […]