Calling Science Educators in Grades 5-8!

The NJSTA Maitland P. Simmons Memorial Award (MPSMA) Committee is excited to sponsor a two-day professional learning institute designed for grades 5–8 science teachers and science supervisors who want to deepen their understanding of the thinking and sensemaking demanded by the NJSLA-Science assessment. Educators will experience the assessment from a student’s perspective, unpack the cognitive demands of discrete and constructed-response items, and explore how students are expected to transfer their science knowledge to explain how and why phenomena occur.

Participants in the 2027 NJSTA MPSMA Summer Institute will examine and evaluate classroom assessment tasks and explore the action words embedded in the state practice tests. Teachers will also have an opportunity to analyze and score student open-ended student responses. Attendees will consider how well assessments promote sensemaking and will improve their ability to provide high-quality feedback that moves student thinking forward.

Teachers will have dedicated time to design their own high-quality assessment items aligned to NJSLS and the expectations of NJSLA-Science. Through collaborative work, peer review, and reflection, participants will leave the Institute with classroom-ready assessment items and practical tools to help bridge the gap between everyday classroom assessment and NJSLA-Science success.

Online Application