#390: Making First Graders’ Reasoning in Life Science Visible: Design Considerations for NGSS-Aligned Formative Assessments

This study examines how first graders reason about key life science concepts (structure–function and biomimicry, behavior, and inheritance) through NGSS-aligned formative assessment tasks and how design features support or hinder their reasoning. Guided by Learning Progressions and Evidence-Centered Design frameworks, we developed nine formative assessment tasks and rubrics to capture first graders’ reasoning and understanding across developmental levels. Two experienced teachers implemented the tasks in individual accountability and small-group formats. Results revealed that most first graders demonstrated emerging causal reasoning when supported by multimodal representations and collaborative settings, though linguistic and visual demands sometimes constrained performance. Results also indicate that task design features, such as use of videos, familiar contexts, and oral or drawing-based responses, can enhance accessibility and reveal reasoning otherwise masked by literacy limitations. Findings contribute preliminary design considerations for developmentally and linguistically responsive formative assessments in early life science learning contexts.