ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the critical role of formative assessment in supporting all students in the three-dimensional learning called for by the NGSS. The chapter situates the practices of formative assessment within the Ambitious Science Teaching Framework (Windschitl, Thompson, Braaten, & Stroupe, 2012), in which teachers use high-leverage practices to provide and adapt ongoing model-based learning opportunities for all students. Scientific phenomena can be used to ground opportunities for science instruction and formative assessment practices. Using an anchoring phenomenon can provide coherence in a unit and a reason for instruction. It also allows for deeper engagement with the science, which can allow teachers richer formative assessment opportunities. The chapter describes how teachers begin by eliciting student ideas, which serve as the starting point for instruction in a unit as well as a source of information to help teachers design lessons and activities that are responsive to the learning needs of students, particularly English learners.]
