Surfacing Brilliance Through Meaningful Science Assessment

Aneesha Badrinarayan is an education policy consultant at Education First, where she supports states and districts in developing meaningful teaching, learning, and assessment systems across content areas and strategies. Prior to joining Education First, Aneesha led assessment initiatives and strategy at the Learning Policy Institute and Achieve. She is a national expert on instructionally relevant assessment systems, high-quality assessments, and science teaching, learning, and assessment. Over the last 20 years, Aneesha has led work related to high-quality instructional materials, assessment system development from classroom assessments to state assessments to NAEP, and professional learning. Trained as a behavioral neuroscientist, Aneesha comes to education policy via informal science education and bench science. She received her B.A. in Biology from Cornell University and her M.S. in neuroscience from the University of Michigan.  Aneesha lives in Maryland with her husband Dan and their fabulous toddler Rishi. When she isn’t playing the role of science assessment superhero, you can find her alter ego with her nose in a romance novel,  her hands whisking something in the kitchen, and the rest of her body otherwise occupied with slowly transforming her house into a toddler play place (who needs a dining room, really?)

• AcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorAuthor’s NotePART 1: UNDERSTANDING SCIENCE STANDARDS IN FUTURE-FOCUSED WAYSIntroduction: Setting the StageA Quick Primer on the Next Generation Science StandardsGrounding Principles and Needed Shifts in Science AssessmentThis Is Not Your Typical Science Assessment BookOverview of This BookLanguage Use in This BookCHAPTER 1: Future-Focused Science Assessments: Interpreting the NGSS and Similar Standards for Meaningful Assessments in a Rapidly Evolving WorldUnderstanding Our Foundation: Current Features of High-Quality Science AssessmentsLandscape Shift 1: Local and Cultural Relevance and PersonalizationLandscape Shift 2: Competencies and Durable SkillsLandscape Shift 3: Technology and Its Impact on Teaching, Learning, and Assessment in ScienceFuture-Focused Science Assessment: EvolutionChapter SummaryReflection QuestionsPART 2: FOUR PRIORITIES FOR SURFACING SCIENCE THINKING IN TRUSTWORTHY AND USEFUL WAYSCHAPTER 2: Priority 1: SensemakingDefining Sensemaking in AssessmentWhy Is Sensemaking So Important?What Leads to Sensemaking in Assessment TasksPathways to Sensemaking: Phenomena, Problematizing, and PromptsChoosing a Phenomenon to Drive SensemakingProblematizing a Phenomenon to Surface SensemakingCrafting Prompts to Elicit SensemakingScaffolding Sensemaking in Assessment TasksDeep Dive Into Choosing Meaningful Phenomena: Right-Sizing Phenomena and Problems to a Given Assessment TaskUsing Phenomena to Understand Transfer and Generalizability of Science LearningCaution: Ensuring Transfer Doesn’t Become a Pass for Discrimination and InequityChapter SummaryReflection QuestionsCHAPTER 3: Priority 2: RelevanceMaking Assessment Tasks Relevant—Not Just Interesting—to Learners and Their CommunitiesUsing Culture as a Concrete Path to Relevance in Science AssessmentsUnderstanding Our Students: An ExampleAttending to Culture and Relevance at the Scale of Many StudentsWindows and Mirrors: A Strategy for Approaching Relevance at ScaleFeatures of Culturally Conscious AssessmentsMotivation and Affect: Reimagining One of Assessment’s Cardinal RulesChapter SummaryReflection QuestionsCHAPTER 4: Priority 3: AssetsLooking for Assets in Student SensemakingKey Features of Asset-Based Assessment Practices in ScienceMoving Beyond Misconceptions: Reframing Our Orientation to Wrong and Incomplete AnswersImplications of Asset-Based Approaches for Assessment Tasks and Data DashboardsHabits and Beliefs of Asset-Based AssessorsCelebrating Assets of Students Who Think Differently Than We DoChapter SummaryReflection QuestionsCHAPTER 5: Priority 4: Opportunity and ExperienceThe Relationship Between Opportunity, Experience, and PerformanceMaking the Right Information AvailableImpact on StudentsA Window Into Practices and Durable SkillsWhat Experiences Should We Measure?Turning Experience Information Into Insights About Opportunity to Learn That Influence Our Interpretations of Student Performance and Next Steps in InstructionUsing Opportunity and Experience Data to Foster New Conversations With ParentsChapter SummaryReflection QuestionsPART 3: PUTTING THE PRIORITIES TO WORKCHAPTER 6: Choosing and Designing Assessments That Center the Four PrioritiesReviewing Tasks: CriteriaReviewing Tasks: ProcessSome Tips to Help Quick Task EvaluationDeveloping Assessments That Are Designed for the Science Standards in Ways That Center the Four PrioritiesStep 1: Understand and Define Your Assessment Targets Within a Future-Focused FrameworkStep 2: Unpack Standards and Other Learning Goals With Learners’ Culture, Interests, and Identities in MindStep 3: Write Claims for Your Assessment That Synthesize Your Focal DCIs, SEPs, CCCs, and Durable Skills Into a Statement About Student LearningStep 4: Choose a Phenomenon or Problem That Centers Specific Communities, Interests, and Reasons for EngagingStep 5: Create a Problematized Scenario Based on the PhenomenonStep 6: Develop Complete Student Explanations or Models That Specifically Account for How Different Perspectives and Ideas Can Be Valued in Complete ResponsesStep 7: Develop Prompts That Elicit Sensemaking With Multiple Dimensions and Lived ExperiencesStep 8: Develop Asset-Oriented Interpretation Guidance for Student ResponsesStep 9: Invite Feedback and Review From Those Closest to Students You Are Least Connected ToStep 10: Pilot and Revise, Focusing on Learners at the MarginsChapter SummaryReflection QuestionsCHAPTER 7: Using Generative AI in Responsible Ways to Support Science Assessment Design and UseDefining TermsUnderstanding the Current State of Generative AI in Science AssessmentWays Generative AI Might Support Science AssessmentApproaching AI as a “Collaborator” in Science Assessment ActivitiesA Use-Case: AI in Science Assessment ReviewGuiding Principles for Using Generative AI in Science Assessment Processes (AKA Aneesha′s Laws of Assessment Machines)Supporting Social SensemakingSome Final CaveatsChapter SummaryReflection QuestionsCHAPTER 8: Epilogue: An Invitation to ImagineReferencesIndex

Surfacing Brilliance Through Meaningful Science Assessment is the assessment guide we’ve been waiting for. Aneesha Badrinarayan offers a clear, compassionate, and visionary roadmap for designing assessments that affirm student brilliance, honor cultural assets, and spark real sensemaking. Grounded in both research and practice, this book translates equity into action—making it an essential companion for educators, leaders, and developers who believe science learning should be rigorous, relevant, and relentlessly student-centered.