Junior Science: Thinking with Evidence can be used in a variety of ways to help inform formative assessment (see the cycle below).
In this teacher manual there is information about the NZC, and how the science capabilities are used to weave together the Nature of Science (NOS) and the contextual strands.
The reports help teachers gather information about gaps in student capability and understanding.
Ideas for next steps can help teachers address the student learning challenges they find.
The test questions model possible contexts teachers can use in developing their science programmes.
Finding out what students were thinking in their responses
An important aspect of formative assessment is in finding out how students use their prior knowledge and the misconceptions to answer each question. The best strategy is to ask students what they were thinking when they gave a particular response. Some useful questions to ask students who answered questions incorrectly are:
- Why do you think that?
- What evidence is there to support your idea?
- Can you justify that?
- What were you thinking when you did that
- Do you agree with your classmate? Why or why not?
More information on using the tests for formative assessment can be found in the individual test item report on the NZCER Marking website.
Next page: List report