sets an ambitious vision for science learning by emphasizing that for students to achieve proficiency in science they will need to participate in the authentic practices of scientists. To realize this vision, all students will need opportunities to learn from high-quality curriculum materials where they engage in science practices. We report on our study of a middle school curriculum called Project-Based Inquiry Science that has some design features that match well with the new directions in science education. To measure the impact of these materials, we conducted a randomized controlled trial in sixth grade science classrooms across 42 schools in an urban school district. We randomly assigned schools to either a treatment condition where teachers implemented the project-based science curriculum or a comparison condition where teachers implemented the district-adopted textbook. Teachers in both conditions received professional development on the Framework. Students who participated in the project-based science curriculum outperformed students in the comparison curriculum on outcome measures that were aligned to core science ideas and science practices in the Framework. Importantly, the results show that project-based curriculum materials that incorporate science practices along with disciplinary content can help students achieve next generation science learning outcomes when there is coherence with district guidance about instruction. The study findings suggest that curriculum materials, district involvement, and support for teachers' implementation of new forms of instruction are important for realizing the vision and key principles of the Framework in the context of a large and diverse urban school district.

In this paper, we investigate the potential and conditions for using curriculum adaptation to support reform of science teaching and learning. With each wave of reform in science education, curriculum has played a central role and the contemporary wave focused on implementation of the principles and vision of the Framework for K–12 Science Education (National Research Council, 2012) is no exception. Curriculum adaptation—whereby existing curriculum materials are purposefully modified—may provide an important strategy for teacher leaders in schools and districts to support changes to teacher practice aligned with the vision of the Framework. Our study provides empirical evidence that under supportive district conditions and within a research–practice partnership, purposefully adapted curriculum materials can improve student understanding of science and that these are linked to shifts teachers make in classroom culture facilitated by augmented curriculum materials.

Evaluators must employ research designs that generate compelling evidence related to the worth or value of programs, of which assessment data often play a critical role. This article focuses on assessment design in the context of evaluation. It describes the process of using the Framework for K-12 Science Education and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) to design assessments to evaluate the efficacy of a curricular intervention. The new science standards present a significant challenge to assessment designers and evaluators because these standards emphasize the integration of disciplinary core ideas, practices, and crosscutting concepts. This article presents the structure of a validity argument for such uses with an evidence-centered design perspective and unpacks the design decisions in developing and implementing these assessments in an efficacy study of a project-based science curriculum. Implications for designing NGSS-aligned assessments for program evaluation purposes are discussed.

This article discusses the rapidly emerging field of computer-based assessment for adaptive content in e-learning (National Research Council, 2002), which we call differentiated e-learning. In e-learning products, a variety of assessment approaches are being used for such diverse purposes as adaptive delivery of content, individualizing learning materials, dynamic feedback, cognitive diagnosis, score reporting, and course placement (Gifford, 2001). A recent paper at the General Teaching Council Conference in London, England, on teaching, learning, and accountability described assessment for personalized learning through e-learning products as a "quiet revolution" taking place in education (Hopkins, 2004). In our study, we examine approaches for the use of assessment evidence in e-learning in four case studies. The products in the case studies were selected for exhibiting at least one exemplary aspect regarding assessment and measurement.

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