Next-Generation Science Assessments

Uh-oh. Here's a piece from EdWeek that rips apart the notion that the 'new' tests will be any different/better/more valid/more reliable/more useful than the 'old' tests.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/10/02/06science.h33.html?tkn=TOUFxOBuVQz1P02WiCw1CcPQNp21Rc%2FWUquz&cmp=ENL-CM-NEWS2

Here's a winner:
...performing proficiently in 8th grade science on the National Assessment of Educational Progress has been highly correlated with the amount of out-of-school science enrichment students receive, which, she says suggests that schools already have little time to dedicate to complex science tasks, and less time to prepare for similarly complex test items.

So, even the much vaunted NAEP doesn't really tell us what the reformers say it tells us. It doesn't tell us how well kids are learning at school, and it damn sure doesn't tell us anything about the quality of classroom instruction.
I submit that this correlation has less to do with available instructional time and more with the financial resources of the family to enrich the child's environment. In other words, it's the poverty, AGAIN, stupid.