Assess Like a GPS: Keeping Students on the Learning Path
From Peter McLaren
 If I were to walk up to you and simply say the word "assessment", what would you think of? Besides wondering why a perfect stranger came up to you saying the word "assessment", you might think of state tests or other instruments that measure student progress for accountability purposes. But what if I told you that the most powerful assessment is not a test given by the state nor is it one that requires students to fill in an answer sheet?
The assessment that I am talking about is formative assessment, an ongoing process where teachers and students alike track progress towards a learning goal. Formative assessment is not administered once a year, but is on-going in classrooms every day. In a STEM classroom, it is not only the student’s learning of content that is being assessed, but also the skills and practices that students need to use in order to apply the content.
The Framework for K-12 Science Education (NRC, 2012) was influenced by a body of research that demonstrates that science and engineering involve both knowing and doing (NRC, 2014). The "doing" refers to eight important practices used by scientists and engineers, such as modeling, developing explanations or solutions, and engaging in argumentation. The framework stresses that students need to actively engage in these practices in order to truly understand the core ideas within the disciplines (NRC, 2014).
In the classroom - when students are applying these practices - it presents an opportunity for the teacher to assess where students are. When students engage in discourse, they make their thinking visible, revealing their level of understanding and allowing teachers to formatively assess where the student is in terms of progression towards the learning goal. Additionally, students are able to help construct their understanding through discourse by sharing their ideas and arguing from evidence. Teachers assessing formatively can use this classroom dialogue to guide and restructure their instruction, keeping their students on the "right path".
An actively engaged STEM classroom provides all students the opportunity to share their understanding, engage in argument, and come to consensus with the teacher serving in the role of facilitator in their learning. MIT BLOSSOMS video modules, through the “teaching duet” pedagogy, support STEM learning by presenting students with unique approaches to STEM concepts. Students wrestle with the challenge of the lesson collaboratively and allow the teacher to guide their instruction by formatively assessing their progress.
The best analogy for formative assessment that I know of is a GPS. The driver programs their destination, and the GPS informs the driver if they are on the right track or if they need to change their route to get to their destination. Productive formative assessment helps keep students on track towards their destination...their learning goal. MIT BLOSSOMS helps teachers RECALCULATE to keep their students on track.
Peter McLaren is the Science and Technology Specialist at the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE). He was part of the National Research Council committee that produced the report, Developing Assessments for the Next Generation Science Standards. This report can be downloaded at: http://www.nap.edu.
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