ABSTRACT
To assess science practice, teacher must first know how to build a curriculum that incorporates science practice. Notice that the more generic top-level categories outline the science practice of interest, whereas the individual criterions focus on how the specific content is integrated into practice. Good rubrics combine the assessment of science practice and science content at the same time. Rubrics divide an assignment into its component parts and provide a detailed description of what constitutes acceptable or unacceptable levels of performance for each of those parts. Assignment rubrics are great for assessing students after the activity. In particular with respect to science, students enter the classroom with their own experiences and mental models for the world around them based on those experiences. It is important for students to utilize as many practices as possible throughout the learning cycle. Students can only "understand" science ideas if they understand how the practice of science leads to those ideas.
