Although science assessment does not currently fall under the accountability measures of NCLB, design teams should consider the ways that the reported assessment information might be used in an accountability system. In addition, design teams should discuss and provide examples of the ways in which reported assessment results can be used by teachers and principals to evaluate students’ achievement and inform instructional practice.

Design teams should consider and incorporate professional technical standards for content and testing as detailed in the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996) and in Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, and National Council on Measurement in Education, 1999).

In designing its model, the team should consider ways in which technology can be used in the assessment system to make the system more efficient. In particular, the design team should outline ways technology could be used to enhance evaluation of skills, to utilize innovative item formats, to provide accommodations to students with special needs, to score open-ended responses, and/or to enhance score reporting.