Do Curriculum Outcomes and Assessment Activities in Science Encourage Higher Order Thinking

The curriculum for two science units in each of Grades 6 and 7 was analyzed to determine the cognitive levels of the outcomes and their cognitive alignment with the assessments that corresponded with these outcomes. This was done for British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Atlantic Canada. The outcomes and assessments included a variety of higher and lower thinking skills, with several jurisdictions having distinctly fewer higher than lower order outcomes and assessments. The cognitive alignment between outcomes and assessments ranged from 42 to 71%. Strong alignment between outcomes and classroom assessment increases students’ opportunity to learn and become good thinkers.