SCIENCE SKILLS are LIFE SKILLS
Authentic Assessment is teachSTEM’s approach to helping schools design learning experiences where students don’t just learn about science — they do science that matters.
Students investigate their environment, collect evidence, analyse what they find and physically share that information with councils, libraries, scientists and community organisations.
This means their assessment tasks become real contributions to real environmental understanding, not simulations. Students take part in genuine action while they are still at school, building the confidence, skills and awareness they need to actively participate in the world around them as they grow.
Why Authentic Assessment Matters
Students learn deeply when their work has purpose.
This approach transforms traditional tasks into meaningful investigations where students:
Explore genuine environmental questions
Collect and interpret data from their own school or community
Understand how evidence shapes decisions
See their findings displayed or shared beyond the classroom
Build confidence in their ability to contribute to real issues
By taking part in real action while still at school, students gain a lifelong understanding of how science supports community wellbeing and environmental stewardship
Impact for Students
Students develop:
- scientific inquiry skills
- data literacy and critical thinking
- environmental understanding grounded in their local area
- communication skills through public displays or presentations
- confidence as active contributors, not passive learners
They experience science as something they can do, something that informs their community, and something they will continue to engage with as they grow.
Community Benefit
The evidence students collect is used to:
- inform local conversations
- support councils and community groups
- enhance library displays on water, climate, biodiversity and land use
- increase public awareness of environmental change
- encourage families to understand local conditions more clearly
Students become local contributors whose work helps strengthen environmental understanding for their whole community.
How Support Makes a Difference
Support for the Authentic Assessment program enables:
- more teachers to access professional learning
- development of hands-on tools and assessment resources
- student access to science equipment
- community displays that share environmental insights
- expansion of the program to more schools nationwide
Contributions to this program help advance education and advance the natural environment by enabling young people to generate reliable evidence that supports both.
Educator Voices
“Our assessment tasks now have genuine purpose. Students collect data, write reports and then share their findings with people who actually use them.”
— Head of Science
“Students were motivated because their work wasn’t just for marks. They were contributing to real understanding of our local area.”
— Year 9 Teacher
“The program helped us shift from testing knowledge to building capability. The improvement in student engagement has been incredible.”
— Deputy Principal
Student Experiences
“We tested the creek and added our results to the display. People in the community were reading it and talking about it.”
— Priya, Year 7
“We used our data to explain why the oval kept flooding. It felt like real science that could help our school.”
— Luca, Year 8
“We record changes every week in the gardens. Now the whole school checks what’s new.”
— Lily, Year 6