In considering learning of science content, our we take a multi-level assessment approach. Assessments can be considered at various distances from an intervention.A proximal assessment’s items and tasks are closely related to an intervention’s learning context.More distal assessments connect to an intervention in terms of relevant standards or general expectations but present items and tasks dissimilar from the learning context.Proximal measures are more sensitive to intervention effects; distal measures make it possible to compare results across different interventions and approaches.
We will use three assessments of science knowledge: Curriculum-Aligned Assessments (CAAs) will be the most proximal measure, an Issue-Based Assessment (IBA)will provide an intermediately distanced measure,and student performance on TIMSS items will serve as the most distal measure.

For the IBA, we are developing 6 tasks based on the format that was developed for the national middle school test in Israel. In contrast to traditional science assessments (including the CAA), IBAs involve more complex scenarios and present students with additional information beyond what they will have learned during instruction.In this way, the items mirror real-world situations in which students must use what they know to interpret new information and to connect it to their existing knowledge for constructing explanations, asking questions, evaluating arguments, and making decisions.