Science
FOSS I-Checks
Europe East Rockin I-Checks!
Directions on how to get started with the new ThinkLink Online Assessments
- Assigning Online Assessments to Students
- Coding Online Assessments
- Online Assessment Reports
Look Who's Using the Online I-Checks
Using data from the I-Checks to guide classroom science instruction can have a huge impact on student learning.
FOSS I-Check assessment opportunities occur every 1–2 weeks and are powerful when used to formatively guide classroom instruction. I-Checks make students’ thinking visible and challenge students to put their learning into action in a broader context. Now students must think about the three-dimensional understanding of science (science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts) they have been learning, and know when, where, and how to use them. I-Checks (short for “I check my own understanding”) also provide opportunities for guided self-assessment, an important skill for future learning and development of a growth mindset. For teachers, assessments are the bridge between teaching and monitoring student learning.
Adapted from FOSS
Europe East Continuous Improvement Site
Assessment Matrix
Europe East Science I-Checks (2023)
Europe East Elementary Science Expectations
Two I-Checks per Module
(Three Modules: Life, Physical & Earth Science)
Grading I-Checks
After scoring the
I-Check, possible
Next Step...
An example of Science
I-Check Data Analysis
Assessment Next-Step Strategies in FOSS (Grades 3-5)
In the FOSS Teacher Investigation Guide located behind the overview tab, you’ll find a section which focuses on Scheduling the Module. This schedule provides suggestions of when to assess students. The FOSS includes embedded assessment opportunities through the use of notebook entries, answers to focus questions, response sheets, and performance assessments.
These embedded assessments provide daily monitoring of student learning and practices to help you make decisions about instructional next steps. I-Checks opportunities occur every 1-3 weeks. These assessments provide summative information about students’ achievement but can be used as a formative assessment. The Posttest is given as the end of a module. It provides summative information about students’ three-dimensional learning. For more information about the assessments, look behind the last tab in your Teachers Investigation Guide.
The Reflective Assessment Technique
"When teachers focus their attention on formative assessments, targeted on learning goals, student learning can be increased."
This FOSS Assessment System information for kindergarten can be found in your Teacher Investigation Guide and on the FOSSweb site.
This FOSS Assessment System information for grades 1-2 can be found in your Teacher Investigation Guide and on the FOSSweb site.
This FOSS Assessment System information for grades 3-5 can be found in your Teacher Investigation Guide and on the FOSSweb site.
At a time when the pandemic highlights the importance of science, student scores in that subject are either flat or declining on NAEP.
“My expectations for science notebooks has changed since initially implementing them into my classroom. My students honestly blew me away and exceeded my expectations throughout this process. It made me realize how much I would have been limiting their ability to show me their depth of knowledge about science if I had just given them worksheets for assessment. I was amazed at how they used their notebooks to record, share, and discuss their findings with classmates.”
Ms. Sara Delrosa, 1st Grade Teacher at Grafenwoehr Elementary (2020)
