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…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,…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…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,…