Project Purpose and Significance
This website houses tools, information, and resources developed as part of the Stackable, Instructionally-embedded, Portable Science (SIPS) Assessments project funded for a 36-month period from 2020 through 2023 by a Competitive Grants for State Assessments Grant from the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education at the US Department of Education, awarded to the Nebraska Department of Education. SIPS brings together a consortium of six states—Nebraska, Alabama, Alaska, Montana, New York, and Wyoming—with a team of researchers and a panel of experts on validity theory, principled-design, curriculum development, psychometrics, and STEM education to address states’ needs for large-scale science assessments and the needs of educators, parents, and students for resources that support science learning throughout the school year through the development of common assessments and instructional resources on an actionable performance scale.
Project Goals
The primary goals of the SIPS project are to
| 1. | Create a bank of instructionally- embedded science assessment tasks |
| 2. | Build state and local educators’ capacity |
| 3. | Engage educators, students, and parents |
Principled Design
Our model draws upon instructional and assessment principled design strategies that support valid and meaningful interpretations of what students know and can do.
- SIPS Assessment Model
- Principled Assessment Design
- Understanding by Design
- Universal Design
- Learning Progressions