ASSESSING DEVELOPMENT OF COMPUTATIONAL

PRACTICES
The following instrument can be used to assess students’ development of fluency with
computational thinking practices (experimenting and iterating, testing and debugging, reusing
and remixing, abstracting and modularizing).

The first column indicates a question for the student (as part of a design journal prompt or
interview, for example). The second, third, and fourth columns indicate how low, medium, and
high levels of proficiency might be manifested.

EXPERIMENTING AND LOW MEDIUM HIGH

ITERATING
Describe how you built your
project
Describe different things you
tried out as you were working
on your project
Describe revisions you made to
your project and why you
made them
Describe a time when you tried
to do something new
Student provides a Student gives a Student provides
basic description of general example of details about the
building a project, building a specific different
but no details about project. components of a
a specific project. specific project and
how they were
developed.
Student does not Student gives a Student provides
provide specific general example of specific examples of
examples of what trying something in different things they
they tried. the project. tried in a project.
Student says they Student describes Student describes the
made no revisions, one specific revision specific things they
or only states they they made to the revised in the project
made revisions but project. and why.
gives no examples.
Student provides no Student provides a Student describes
examples trying to general example of specific new things
do something new. trying to do they tried in a
something new in project.
the project.

Notes:
TESTING AND
DEBUGGING
Describe a time when your
project didn’t run as you
wanted
Describe how you investigated
the cause of the problem
Describe how you fixed the
problem
Describe how other ways to
solve the problem
Notes:
LOW MEDIUM HIGH
Student does not Student describes Student gives a
describe a situation what went wrong in specific example of
that involves a the project, but not what happened and
problem with a what they wanted it what they wanted to
project. to do. have happen when
they ran the project.
Student does not Student describes Student describes
describe a problem. reading through the reading through the
scripts, but does not scripts and provides
provide a specific a specific example
example of finding a of finding a problem
problem in the code. in the code.
Student does not Student provides a Student provides a
describe what general example of specific example of
problems they making a change and making a change and
experienced, or the testing it out to see if testing it to see if it
solution. it worked. worked.
Student does not Student provides a Student provides
provide an example general example of specific examples of
of trying to solve a another solution to other solutiosn to the
problem. the problem. problem.
REUSING AND
REMIXING
Describe how you found
inspiration by trying other
projects and reading their
scripts
Describe a time you used a
part of another project as a
part of your project
Describe a time you modified
an existing project (either
someone else’s or your own) to
improve or enhance it
Describe how you give credit
to others’ work that you built
on or were inspired by
Notes:
LOW MEDIUM HIGH
Student does not Student provides a Student provides a
describe how they general description specific example of
found ideas or of a project that project that inspired
inspiration from inspired them. them and how.
other projects.
Student does not Student provides a Student provides
describe how they general description specific examples of
adapted scripts, of scripts, ideas, or scripts, ideas, or
ideas, or resources resources they resources they
from other projects. adapted from other adapted from other
projects. projects and how.
Student does not Student provides a Student provides
describe modifying general description specific examples of
another project. of modifications modifications
they made to another they made to other
project. projects and why.
Student does not Student names Student describes
give credit to others. people or projects documentation in
that inspired them. project and/or on the
Scratch website of
the people and
projects that inspired
them.
ABSTRACTING AND
MODULARIZING
Describe how you decided
what sprites were needed for
your project, and where they
should go
Describe how you decided
what scripts were needed for
your project, and what they
should do
Describe how you organized
the scripts
Notes:
LOW MEDIUM HIGH
Student provides no Student provides a Student provides a
description of how general description specific description
they selected sprites. of deciding to of how they made
choose certain decisions about
sprites. sprites based on
goals for the project.
Student provides no Student provides a Student provides a
description of how general description specific description
they created scripts. of deciding to create of how they made
certain scripts. decisions about
scripts based on
goals for the project.
Student does not Student provides a Student provides
describe how they general description specific examples of
organized scripts. of how they how they organized
organized scripts. scripts and why.