You can teach the standards, finish the units, and build in review time, and still have students feel caught off guard by a state science assessment. That is because NGSS assessments are not just asking students to remember what they learned. They are asking students to use what they know in a new situation. On …
Are Your Students Truly Ready for Your State’s NGSS Assessment? Read More »
The months leading up to a state science test carry real pressure. Teachers have covered the curriculum. Students have worked through the material. Now the question becomes what to do with the time that’s left. More review of the same content rarely moves the needle. What works is preparation that is data-driven and deliberately scaffolded, …
4 Proven Strategies to Prepare Students for 2026 NGSS Science Tests Read More »
In education, the word partnership gets used a lot. Sometimes it means access to a platform. Sometimes it means technical support. But a true science assessment partnership goes much deeper. It’s not transactional. It’s collaborative, strategic, and ongoing. And most importantly, it strengthens instruction instead of interrupting it. It Starts With Alignment A real partnership …
How True Science Assessment Partnership Looks Like Read More »
When students struggle in science, the solution isn’t simply “more worksheets” or repeating the same lesson again. What they need is science intervention: a strategic, data-informed approach that targets specific gaps in understanding and skills. In this post, we’ll define what science intervention is, how it fits within schoolwide support systems, and what effective review …
Science Intervention: Strategies, Review, & Practice Read More »
5-PS1-1 focuses on Structure and Properties of Matter, specifically emphasizing that there are particles that make up everything, but they are often to small to be seen. In this post, we’ll pull apart the standard to better understand the specifics of what we’re asking for students to do and give examples for instruction and assessment …
MS-LS2-1 focuses on Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems, specifically emphasizing the analysis of data to determine the impacts of resource availability. In this post, we’ll break down the standard to better understand this performance expectation, and we’ll also look at how to make sense of it with students by scaffolding up with different phenomena and NGSS …
HS-PS1-2 focuses on Structure and Properties of Matter and Chemical Reactions, specifically emphasizing explaining the outcomes of chemical reactions of main group elements. In this post, we’ll look at the standard to clarify and break down the performance expectation, and we’ll also look at how to make sense of it with students by scaffolding up …
HS-PS1-1 focuses on Structure and Properties of Matter, specifically emphasizing that models of the outer electron shell can be helpful in explaining the relative properties of elements. In this post, we’ll break apart the standard and to better understand the performance expectation, and we’ll also look at how to make sense of this topic with …
HS-LS1-2 focuses on Structure and Function, specifically emphasizing the ways that hierarchical systems work together in organisms. In this post, we’ll dissect the standard to better understand the performance expectation, and we’ll also look at how to make sense of it with students by connecting the dots and scaffolding up with different tasks. Standards Breakdown Phenomena …
HS-LS1-1 focuses on Structure and Function, specifically emphasizing the specialized cells in living systems and the relationship between DNA and proteins. In this post, we’ll look at the standard and expand some of our thinking to help you better understand the performance expectation, and we’ll also look at how to make sense of these phenomena with …