ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION We arrive at the beginning of the 21st century with new agendas, challenges, insights and issues facing the science of learning and science education. The research on learning and reasoning over the past 20 years has ushered in new and important ideas about the science of learning (NRC, 1999) and the important role of assessment in learning (NRC, 2001). Other developments influencing science learning include the new NAEP 2009 Science Framework (NAGB, 2008). The NAEP Framework emphasizes the assessment of outcomes that include both the target content and the context of its use (i.e., learning performances). In doing so, the assessment of science learning is taken beyond questions of what we know toward the inclusion of questions and tasks addressing how we know and why we believe what we know. New computer tools and technologies both in the classrooms and in support of classrooms and schools are making possible new forms of information on learning that can: (a) guide teachers in assessment for learning as well as assessment of learning; and (b) bring databases to classrooms for further inquiry and engagement in complex scientific/mathematical reasoning (NRC, 2006).
