Access NGSS Assessments for Science Instruction

Pear Assessment (formerly Edulastic) includes pre-made, vetted, and free assessments for science teachers. This includes Next Generation Science Standards content (NGSS). The free NGSS assessments cover all of middle school standards and half of high school standards. Additionally, the assessments were created with technology-enhanced items (TEIs), which help engage students.

Our Pear Assessment Certified NGSS content authors wrote the science assessments while keeping in mind the three pillars of NGSS: Disciplinary Core Ideas, Practices, and Crosscutting Concepts. Many of the questions leverage TEIs to boost interactivity and encourage students to demonstrate strong mastery of science concepts. The STEM questions span across different levels of DOK for science and can complement hands-on activities in class for a complete blended learning experience.

Access the NGSS assessments

Once you log into your free or premium Pear Assessment account, you can access the new NGSS assessments in a couple of ways. If you would like to work straight from one of the pre-crafted assessments, you can look for the assessments in the assessment library. A simple search of one of the content author's names will take you straight to their assessments.

For middle school physical science, search "John Handel"
For middle school life science, search "Lindsay Glasner"
For high school physical science, search "Dr. Mike VanEngelen"

Alternatively, when searching for the NGSS Performance Expectations, you aim to implement and look for the assessments with the little green triangle in the corner. The green triangle indicates the assessment is Pear Assessment Certified.

In some cases you may want to start from scratch and build your own assessment. To access these new questions from the item bank, go to the edit page for the assessment and click the "Add New Question" button to pull up the search page for questions. In the "Item Banks" box, select "Pear Assessment Certified" from the dropdown menu. Make sure your subject is set to "Science-NGSS" when browsing question items.

Personalize learning: How to customize the NGSS content

Make these NGSS questions your own. We know oftentimes science content is best when personalized for a particular region or class. When logged into Pear Assessment, teachers can customize assessments and questions to fit their curricula or desired focus. With thousands of STEM questions to choose from, you'll have a strong starting point when creating a new assessment for students.

Formative assessment is a great way for sciences teachers to check for understanding throughout the year. With immediate feedback, teachers can make sure students are digesting the content they need to know.

As we move forward to do our part to positively influence education, we are excited to continue to support STEM learning.