ABSTRACT
Assessment involves gathering information about an individual student or an entire class and using this information to inform students about their progress, to make changes in the pace at which material is being covered, and to make decisions about the kinds of teaching strategies being used. Assessments can occur near the end of a unit, and these summative assessments are the culmination of the students' science learning. In contrast, formative assessments are used in the midst of learning to decide where adjustments might need to be made. Formal assessments are planned in advance and are designed to assess specific information. These include quizzes and tests but can also extend to performance assessments and portfolios. Informal assessments are more spontaneous and are often used to obtain a sense of students' understandings without expecting them to create a complete picture. Interviews are powerful assessment strategies because they provide access to student thinking through one-on-one conversations about specific concepts and questions.
