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Teaching Children Science Book Cover
Teaching Children Science: A Project-Based Approach, 2/e
Joe Krajcik, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Charlene Czerniak, University of Toledo
Carl Berger, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Why Do We Assess Students in Science?

Definitions

assessment  Any method used to judge or evaluate an outcome or help make a decision.
authentic assessment  Measures meaningful understanding by stressing open-ended answers rather than a single "correct" one.
classroom assessments  Assessment used to help teachers evaluate students' progress during a unit of study.
content knowledge  The central concepts, principles, and theories in an area of study.
embedded  Lodged in instruction.
feedback  Comments to provide useful information.
formative assessments  Day-to-day assessments used to help teachers evaluate students' progress during a unit of study and make decisions regarding curriculum and instruction.
large-scale assessment  District, state, or national assessments used to evaluate school curriculum, school district progress, and programs; sometimes called high-stakes assessment because of the importance placed on the tests.
metacognitive knowledge  Self knowledge or knowledge of one's own cognition.
procedural knowledge  Knowledge allows people to know how to do something, conduct inquiry, or use a skill.
reflective practitioners  Teachers who think about, analyze, and mentally debate what should be done to most effectively teach particular students at any given moment.
reliable assessment  Assessment that provides consistent results across different trials, thus yielding similar results on different occasions.
summative assessment  Assessment of individual achievement in the form of end-of-unit tests, letter grades, and large-scale assessments.
valid assessment  Assessment that is fair and allows the teacher to make accurate generalizations about a student's knowledge.