Assessing Understanding of Launch Commit Criteria Using NASA’s Kennedy Launch Academy Simulation System

We set out to develop an assessment instrument that could be used to measure student learning from the KLASS experience. We sought to balance the purpose of the assessment between measuring outcomes directly related to the KLASS experience as well as measuring outcomes related to state and national standards. We expected to see greater instructional sensitivity for questions directly related to the KLASS experience than for questions related to state and national standards. Through a process of interviewing NASA shuttle operations personnel in biomedical, engines/external tank, and weather, we developed a cognitive framework of important outcomes related to the KLASS experience. The cognitive framework guided the selection and development of assessment questions. The resulting twenty-seven question assessment was validated through a summer experience with 100 middle school students.