February 2024

Black History Month is a celebration of Black/African Americans' brilliance and contributions to history, culture, and society in the United States. Below are some resources as you continue to engage diverse voices, contributions, and perspectives in science education this month and beyond:

• Helping Students Make Sense of the World- Chapter 3, Towards More Equitable Learning in Science, focuses on 3 Principles for expanding meaningful teaching and learning opportunities.
• STEM Teaching Tool - This practice brief explores how educational leaders can work with communities to support and build upon the cultures and histories of students and their families. 
• The History Makers - ScienceMakers have made advances in scientific research and include chemists, engineers, and physicists, as well as science education administrators.
• American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology - This is a timeline highlighting the important achievements in life sciences by Black scientists.
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2023-2024 Science Assessments Available

OSAS Science Summative Assessment test window is coming up for Spring 2024

• The OSAS Science Test is aligned to Oregon Science Standards (NGSS).  Students are required to take the OSAS Science Test in Grades 5, 8, and 11. Your child’s school will select testing dates between March – June (Grades 5 and 8) and February – June (Grade 11th).
• Students will encounter a mix of test items, including multiple choice, multiple select, simulations and more. To help students familiarize themselves with the various question types and interactions they may encounter during the test, ODE publicly releases and offers Sample Tests for practice.

Oregon’s Interim Assessments in ELA, Math, and Science are now available for the 2023-2024 school year.

• Schools and districts may administer these assessments to students in-person or remotely. Information and professional learning resources to support test selection, administration, scoring, and data use are available on ODE’s Interim Assessment webpage. Contact your District Test Coordinator (DTC) to activate interim assessments. 

Science Cross Sectional Target Reports

• Districts now have the opportunity to delve deep into comprehensive data analysis with the OSAS Cross Target Reports for ELA, Math, and Science tests, spanning up to three years. These reports offer districts and schools invaluable insights into student performance across a spectrum of targets, enabling a thorough evaluation of strengths and areas for improvement within teaching and learning systems. For more information, please go to ODE’s Professional Development webpage for an introduction to target reports and infographics. 

Please contact Mariela Salas Bao, Science Assessment Specialist, with questions or support needs.

Science Instructional Materials 

ODE staff, in collaboration with ESDs, hosted five in-person opportunities to review instructional materials. If you were unable to attend or are interested in reviewing the science adoption list, publisher contact list, or the science instructional materials virtual caravan, please visit the ODE Adopted Materials by Content Area webpage.

If you have any questions about the adoption list or need additional support with instructional materials adoption, please feel free to review these instructional materials toolkit resources or reach out to Aujalee Moore or Jamie Rumage.

OSTA 62ND ANNUAL CONFERENCE & Open Board Positions 

Save the date: Saturday, November 2, 2024 at Roosevelt Middle School, Eugene, Oregon

Session Proposals are due by April 15, 2024 for initial consideration. Please use this proposal form link to see a list of information requested and additional details. If you would like to serve on a conference committee, please send an email to: conferences@oregonscience.org.

In addition, this year OSTA has open board positions for: President-Elect, Secretary, Membership Coordinator, Regional and At-Large Board Members. See OSTA’s position descriptions on the elections information page of the OSTA website. 

Please email President-Elect@oregonscience.org with any questions or concerns.

Winter-Spring Courses for High School Science 

Portland Metro STEM Partnership and GO STEM Hubs are offering in-person trainings for Physics Units 4-6 and Chemistry Units 5-6 at two different locations (Bend and Newport). Participating educators will be offered a stipend to cover their travel expenses. Details can be found in the course guide.

National Youth Science Academy  

The National Youth Science Camp (NYSCamp) is an all-expenses-paid residential honors program for two high school students from each state, Washington, DC, and participating international countries.

Hosted in Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia since 1963, the National Youth Science Camp (NYSCamp) is a residential science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) program designed to honor and challenge some of the nation’s rising leaders and provide them with opportunities to engage with STEAM professionals and participate in exciting outdoor activities. The science camp runs from June 29 - July 20, 2024. Typically, two delegates are selected to attend camp from each state and the District of Columbia. Oregon is actively seeking delegates to represent our state; encourage your students to apply today!

The deadline for eligible high school students to apply is February 29th, 2024. For more information about eligibility or to apply, please visit the NYSCamp website.

Elementary Science Survey

The Oregon Science Leaders leadership team is planning our future meetings, and know that elementary science education is a big topic for many of you. You may be grappling with this common dilemma: What pedagogical, curricular, and scheduling approaches would help our elementary students access and thrive in science?

Through the Elementary Science Survey, the Oregon Science Leaders are hoping to hear about your promising practices. Please submit a survey, and also share with your district's elementary teachers, science leaders, and building and district administrators.

Inform the Oregon Multilingual Learner State Strategic Plan

This is an exciting year as ODE develops the new Multilingual Learner State Strategic Plan. The development of the plan includes input from a variety of constituents through workgroup sessions, community focus groups, conference sessions and surveys.  

The Oregon Department of Education invites school, district, and Education Service District educators, administrators, and staff to participate in a 15-20-minute survey to share feedback on the draft plan and to share about the services provided to multilingual students. Your participation is voluntary, confidential, and will contribute to improving services and experiences for multilingual children.  

Click: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7684719/ODE-Multilingual-Plan-Survey to make your voice heard! This survey is best answered on a laptop/desktop computer. 

Join us in shaping a statewide plan for improving education for multilingual students in Oregon! Contact Manuel Vazquez, manuel.vazquez@ednw.org or Jennifer Fontana, jennifer.fontana@ode.oregon.gov with questions.

New K-5 Newsletter

ODE’s Office of Teaching, Learning, and Assessment is launching a new quarterly newsletter for K-5 educators. This newsletter will provide resources, opportunities, guidance, and ODE updates tailored specifically to support the integrated and well-rounded instruction that elementary education entails. It aims to streamline information related to K-5 academic standards and instruction into one convenient communication. 

Please subscribe or share the link with K-5 teachers who might be interested.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to Deb Bailey or Kama Almasi, STEM Education Specialists, Mariela Salas Bao, Science Assessment Specialist, or Jamie Rumage, Science Education Specialist, if you have any questions or concerns.