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Over the past decade, teaching strategies that promote cognitive change have become more and more the center of focus in science education (Clement, 1982; Driver, 1988; Posner & Gertzog, 1982). However, rather than focusing on learning and change, most testing is still traditional. It simply measures outcomes of learning in a static way, at the end of an instructional period. The relationship between assessment and teaching will be different for teachers interested in cognitive change (Lawrenz, 1991; Newman, Griffin, & Cole, 1989). These teachers will be using assessment which is dynamic rather than static. Traditional testing has also come under criticism because of its inauthentic nature, designed to shake out students rather than allowing them to exhibit mastery (Frederiksen & Collins, 1989; Wiggins, 1989b). Ethnographic studies on the use of arithmetic in everyday life situations have shown that the performance levels of people on standardized test items were significantly below those on similar items when they occured as part of their everyday environment (Lave, 1988; Scribner, 1984). These findings indicate a need for alternative testing of students' cognitive abilities and achievement. Recently, the notions of dynamic assessment and authentic assessment have found entry to the assessment literature.

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