Assessments
Assessment items have been developed through various projects. You can browse them by the project through which they were developed or by associated NGSS statements across all projects.
The goal of the Assessing Students' Progress on the Energy Concept Using Three-Dimensional Items (ASPECt-3D) project was to develop a set of three-dimensional tasks that measure students ability to use science and engineering practices and cross-cutting concepts along with disciplinary core ideas to explain energy-related phenomena. These tasks present a phenomenon or scenario followed by a series of constructed-response and multiple-choice items that scaffold students sense-making. For some tasks, we developed two versions. One version contains multiple-choice versions of items, and the other contains constructed response versions. Users of the task can select which version they think will be the best option for their purpose. The multiple-choice versions are easier to respond to and score. The constructed-response versions require more time and effort, but can provide a deeper insight into students' ability to construct models, explanations, and arguments.
Assessment Items
Select a science topic to see a list of the key ideas for that topic and options for viewing items and additional information.
Life Science
Physical ScienceEarth Science
Nature of Science
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Task Files
These files include the full tasks and supporting information including alignment with the NGSS, rubrics, and sample student responses.
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| Description | This file explains the format of the task files. |
| AP003006 | Coolants Task File |
| AP005008 | Spacecraft Task File |
| AP007007 | Sunlight Experiment Task File |
| AP009006 & AP035006 | Pool Task File |
| AP010006 & AP036005 | Bowling Task File |
| AP011006 & AP051004 | Crash Tests Task File |
| AP012005 & AP038006 | Catapult Task File |
| AP013005 | Newton's Cradle Task File |
| AP014006 & AP054004 | Stacked Bounce Task File |
| AP015005 & AP055005 | Spinning Fan (Middle School) Task File |
| AP016006 | Bouncing Balls Task File |
| AP017006 & AP056004 | Candle & Fan (High School) Task File |
| AP018007 & AP052004 | Beetles in a National Park Task File |
| AP021006 & AP022006 | Dying Seaweed in an Ocean Ecosystem Task File |
| AP029005 & AP030006 | Creating Water Droplets Task File |
| AP031006 | Hibernating Bear AP31-6 Task File |
| AP032006 | Bees Task File |
| AP033006 | Hummingbird Food Task File |
| AP034006 | Eclipse & Trees Task File |
| AP040006 & AP063002 | Solar Car Task File |
| AP042006 & AP059004 | Hibernating Bear AP42-6&AP59-4 Task File |
| AP043006 | Engines Task File |
| AP044006 | Aluminum Bottles Task File |
| AP047004 & AP062003 | Natural Gas Task File |
| AP048004 & AP061003 | Thawing Soup Task File |
| AP049004 | Gas Simulations Task File |
| AP050004 | Heating Water Bottles Task File |
Field test data summaries
These files provide summaries of student performance during the field tests conducted in elementary, middle, and high schools across the U.S. in spring of 2021 and 2022.
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| Field Test | Overall Field Test Data Summary |
| AP003006 | Coolants Task Data Summary |
| AP005008 | Spacecraft Task Data Summary |
| AP007007 | Sunlight Experiment Task Data Summary |
| AP009006 | Pool MC Task Data Summary |
| AP010006 | Bowling MC Task Data Summary |
| AP011006 | Crash Tests MC Task Data Summary |
| AP012005 | Catapult MC Task Data Summary |
| AP013005 | Newton's Cradle Task Data Summary |
| AP014006 | Stacked Bounce MC Task Data Summary |
| AP015005 | Spinning Fan (Middle School) MC Task Data Summary |
| AP016006 | Bouncing Balls Task Data Summary |
| AP017006 | Candle & Fan (High School) MC Task Data Summary |
| AP018007 | Beetles in a National Park CR Task Data Summary |
| AP021006 | Dying Seaweed in an Ocean Ecosystem CR Task Data Summary |
| AP022006 | Dying Seaweed in an Ocean Ecosystem MC Task Data Summary |
| AP029005 | Creating Water Droplets MC Task Data Summary |
| AP030006 | Creating Water Droplets CR Task Data Summary |
| AP031006 | Hibernating Bear AP31-6 Task Data Summary |
| AP032006 | Bees Task Data Summary |
| AP033006 | Hummingbird Food Task Data Summary |
| AP034006 | Eclipse & Trees Task Data Summary |
| AP035006 | Pool CR Task Data Summary |
| AP036005 | Bowling CR Task Data Summary |
| AP038006 | Catapult CR Task Data Summary |
| AP040006 | Solar Car CR Task Data Summary |
| AP042006 | Hibernating Bear CR Task Data Summary |
| AP043006 | Engines Task Data Summary |
| AP044006 | Aluminum Bottles Task Data Summary |
| AP047004 | Natural Gas CR Task Data Summary |
| AP048004 | Thawing Soup CR Task Data Summary |
| AP049004 | Gas Simulations Task Data Summary |
| AP050004 | Heating Water Bottles Task Data Summary |
| AP051004 | Crash Tests CR Task Data Summary |
| AP052004 | Beetles in a National Park MC Task Data Summary |
| AP054004 | Stacked Bounce CR Task Data Summary |
| AP055005 | Spinning Fan (Middle School) CR Task Data Summary |
| AP056004 | Candle & Fan (High School) CR Task Data Summary |
| AP059004 | Hibernating Bear MC Task Data Summary |
| AP061003 | Thawing Soup Task MC Data Summary |
| AP062003 | Natural Gas Task MC Data Summary |
| AP063002 | Solar Car MC Task Data Summary |
Related Publications
Below are publications that resulted from the ASPECt-3D project.
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| Creating & Using Models Paper | Paper about assessing students' ability to create and use models to explain energy-related phenomena presented at the NARST Annual International Conference in 2019. |
| Preliminary Explanation Rubric Paper | Paper discussing the development of a scoring rubric for evaluating students explanations of energy-related phenomena that was to be presented at the cancelled 2020 AERA Annual Conference. |
| Comparability Study Paper | Paper investigating the comparability of constructed-response and multiple-choice versions of questions within the three-dimensional tasks. Presented at the 2022 NARST Annual International Conference. |
| Rasch Measurement Paper | Paper describing how Rasch modeling was used to develop the three-dimensional tasks. Presented at the 2023 AERA Annual Conference. |
How can the ASPECt-3D resources be used?
ASPECt-3D resources are designed as open educational resources that are licensed as CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0. This license allows educators to use, modify, and reuse all of our resources to meet their needs. This license does require appropriate attribution, which means you must give credit to the author, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests that BSCS Science Learning endorses you or your use. You may not use the materials for commercial purposes. If you modify or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. When the resources include content that licensed in a different manner, it will be noted on the final page of the resource. © 2023 BSCS Science Learning.
Project Funder
The research reported here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305A180512 to the BSCS Science Learning. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education.