Exploratory Behavior Scale (EBS)
Expert NotesStrengths:Captures the quality of young children’s hands-on exploration (e.g., passive contact vs. active manipulation vs. exploratory variation), providing more nuanced insight into learning-related behavior than simple time-based measures.
Cautions:Relies on observational coding of children’s behavior, which requires trained observers and may introduce subjectivity or variability in scoring across different raters or settings.
Topics: Student LearningThe Exploratory Behavior Scale (EBS) is an observational assessment tool designed to measure young children’s hands-on exploratory behavior in interactive learning environments. The instrument is designed to capture the quality of children’s interaction with materials and to enable comparisons…Preschool Assessment of Science (PAS)
Expert NotesStrengths:Performance-based and structured as a sequence of prediction–observation–prediction tasks, allowing it to capture children’s scientific reasoning processes and how they revise their thinking based on evidence.
Cautions:Uses a relatively small number of items per task, which may limit reliability and the ability to capture the full range of children’s scientific understanding and variability in performance.
Topics: Student LearningThe Preschool Assessment of Science (PAS) is a performance-based assessment designed to measure preschool children’s science knowledge and inquiry skills through hands-on tasks. The instrument focuses on children’s ability to engage in a cycle of scientific reasoning, including making predictions,…Custom-built electronic toy to test causal structure knowledge
Expert NotesStrengths:Uses a hands-on, manipulable physical system to elicit children’s reasoning, allowing researchers to directly observe how preschoolers infer and test causal relationships rather than relying solely on verbal explanations or abstract questions.
Cautions:The custom-built device may be a barrier for some educators looking to use this assessment.
Topics: Student LearningThis assessment is a task-based instrument designed to measure preschool children’s understanding of causal relationships through structured interaction with a physical system. The instrument uses a custom-built device consisting of two gears and a switch, where different underlying causal…Life Science Assessment
Expert NotesStrengths:The LSA uses photographs paired with open-ended, oral questions, which is developmentally appropriate for preschool children and allows them to express their understanding without relying on reading or writing skills.
Cautions:Because the LSA relies on open-ended, verbally administered responses, scoring can be subjective and may vary between raters.
Topics: Student LearningThe Life Science Assessment provides insight into children’s emerging inquiry skills and conceptual development by focusing on how they reason about real-world phenomena, rather than simply what they know. The assessment consists of structured, hands-on tasks centered on familiar physical science…The Computational Thinking Test (CT-test)
Expert NotesStrengths:Systematically assesses a wide range of core computational thinking concepts (e.g., sequences, loops, conditionals, and functions) across progressively increasing difficulty levels, providing a comprehensive measure of students’ CT development.
Cautions:Uses multiple-choice, decontextualized tasks (e.g., maze or canvas problems), which may not fully capture how students apply computational thinking in authentic, open-ended coding or robotics activities.
Topics: Student LearningThe Computational Thinking Test (CT-test) is a multiple-choice assessment designed to measure students’ computational thinking skills across a range of core programming concepts in elementary and secondary educational contexts.The test evaluates several dimensions of computational thinking,…Through Course Task (TCT)
Expert NotesStrengths:This NGSS assessment inlcudes detailed scoring guidance and annotated student work samples, which help teachers interpret student responses more consistently and understand what different levels of performance look like in practice.
Cautions:Scoring TCTs can be subjective and requires calibration among teachers, since evaluating open-ended student responses depends on interpretation of rubrics rather than strictly objective scoring.
Topics: Student LearningThrough Course Tasks (TCTs) are a set of performance-based science assessment tasks designed to measure students’ three-dimensional science learning within classroom instruction. They are implemented across grade levels, including elementary, as part of a broader, balanced assessment system that…Block-based Coding Assessment
Expert NotesStrengths:Includes both block recognition and block sequencing tasks, allowing it to capture multiple dimensions of programming knowledge
Cautions:Relies on paper-based representations of programming tasks rather than the actual ScratchJr environment, which may not fully reflect how children demonstrate their understanding during authentic, hands-on coding experiences.
Topics: Student LearningThis assessment is a programming knowledge measure designed to evaluate young children’s understanding of foundational coding concepts and aspects of computational thinking after completing a multi-week instructional unit using ScratchJr. The assessment consists of a series of structured tasks that…Creative Coding Rubric
Expert NotesStrengths:Uses a hands-on, manipulable physical system to elicit children’s reasoning, allowing researchers to directly observe how preschoolers infer and test causal relationships rather than relying solely on verbal explanations or abstract questions.
Cautions:Only applies to apply to coding applications that use block-based programing, e.g. ScratchJr; measures outcome only, not process of creating coding projects; have not yet tested how easily teachers can use the rubric
Topics: Student LearningEvaluates coding skills and project design across 13 categories. Unahalekhaka & Bers (2022) validated with 228 ScratchJr projects.Unahalekhaka & Bers (2022) developed the first version, "ScratchJr Project Rubric"; Blake-West et al. (2025) redesigned the rubric to treat creative coding as a…