SNAP- Short Response items; Short Performance Assessments
Expert NotesStrengths:NGSS-aligned assessments that use performance-based, phenomenon-driven tasks that require students to apply knowledge and practices in realistic contexts, which helps capture deeper understanding and supports meaningful implementation of the standards.
Cautions:Performance-based tasks can be time-intensive to administer and score, especially since they often involve open-ended responses that require rubric-based evaluation rather than quick, objective grading.
Topics: Student LearningThe Stanford NGSS Assessment Project (SNAP)/SCALE Science assessments are a coordinated system of three types of science assessments designed to measure students’ three-dimensional learning aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). These assessments are developed across domains…Junior School Bebras Cards
Expert NotesStrengths:Uses authentic, problem-based Bebras tasks that require students to apply computational thinking skills to varied, real-world–like scenarios, supporting transfer of skills across contexts rather than isolated knowledge recall.
Cautions:Relies on paper-based, multiple-choice–style Bebras tasks, which may not fully capture students’ ability to generate solutions or demonstrate computational thinking in more open-ended or creative problem-solving contexts.
Topics: Student LearningThe Junior School Bebras Cards are an "unplugged" way to assess students' computational thinking skills (e.g., algorithms, logic, abstraction, and pattern recognition) without using computers. The cards prompt students to complete problem-solving activities that present real-world or puzzle-like…Students Knowledge Test (SKT)
Expert NotesStrengths:Designed as grade-specific, developmentally appropriate assessments with a consistent structure (e.g., 15-item multiple-choice format)
Cautions:The use of primarily multiple-choice items may limit the assessment's ability to capture students’ deeper reasoning or understanding of the engineering design process beyond recognition-level knowledge.
Topics: Student LearningThe Students’ Knowledge Tests (SKTs) are grade-specific multiple-choice assessments designed to measure elementary students’ understanding of engineering and science concepts. Each version of the test contains approximately 15 items aligned to content taught through introductory engineering lessons…Integrated STEM Concepts Assessment (Dyehouse et al., 2011)
Expert NotesStrengths:Designed as developmentally appropriate, scalable student knowledge tests that can be administered across large numbers of elementary classrooms.
Cautions:Relies heavily on multiple-choice and short-response formats, which may not fully capture students’ deeper understanding of engineering design processes or their ability to apply concepts in authentic problem-solving contexts.
Topics: Student LearningThis assessment consists of grade-level student knowledge tests designed to measure elementary students’ understanding of engineering design, science, and technology concepts. Separate versions of the test are developed for different grade levels, with each version containing a set of items aligned…Tests of Conceptual Understanding
Expert NotesStrengths:Cautions:Topics: Student LearningThe assessment includes approximately ten items that target students’ understanding of scientific concepts, processes, and reasoning. The instrument is designed to capture students’ depth of understanding of science concepts and their ability to apply scientific ideas in explanatory and inquiry…Formative Assessment Bundling Literacy and Elementary Science (FABLES)
Expert NotesStrengths:Includes teacher guides for pre-instruction and post-instruction tasks
Cautions:Formative not summative assessments.
Topics: Student LearningA set of Grade 3 classroom-based formative assessment resources with accompanying professional learning to support teachers in monitoring and enhancing their students' integrated science and literacy learning.Evolution Concepts Assessment (McGowan-Smyth, 2020)
Expert NotesStrengths:This evolution assessment targets multiple core concepts of evolution (e.g., variation, inheritance, adaptation, speciation, extinction, domestication) through structured items and justifications.
Cautions:Relies heavily on multiple-choice items with written justifications, which may not fully capture students’ underlying reasoning.
Topics: Student LearningThis assessment is designed to measure primary school children’s understanding of evolution, specifically for students aged 10–11. The assessment is based on a theoretical framework of six core evolutionary concepts: variation, inheritance, adaptation, domestication, speciation, and extinction…Beginners Computational Thinking Test (BCTt)
Expert NotesStrengths:Integrates validated pre/post measures (the BCTt) with in-game analytics to track both learning gains and skill progression over time, providing evidence of not just outcomes but also how students develop computational thinking during the learning process.
Cautions:Depends on a specific custom-built game environment
Topics: Student LearningThe Beginners Computational Thinking Test (BCTt) is a paper and pencil multiple-choice assessment in which students answer questions about foundational programming concepts through problem-solving tasks that do not require prior coding experience. The assessment measures early computational…