Real-Time Formative Assessment of NGSS Mathematics Practices for High School Physical Science

Through previous grant awards from IES and the National Science Foundation and an ED/IES SBIR award, researchers developed a virtual laboratory with performance-based simulations aligned to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in physical, life, and earth science for middle school, as well as a dashboard to provide teachers real-time formative and summative assessment reports on students doing science inquiry. In this project, researchers will develop a prototype of Inq-ITS for high school physical science, with a focus on students solving problems by doing mathematics as they conduct inquiry, not fill-in- the-blanks or multiple-choice questions. The prototype will provide prompts to students who are struggling and will provide data to teachers to inform instruction. At the end of Phase I in a pilot study with five high school science teachers, the researchers will examine whether the prototype functions as planned, whether teachers believe that the full product concept could be implemented, and if the prototype shows promise for improving student outcomes related to NGSS-related mathematics learning.