How the refresher works
1. NAIB reads the readiness strand profile rather than relying only on one total score.
2. Learners complete six connected weeks covering scientific reasoning, quantitative work, data literacy, matter and energy, life science, systems, models, and scientific reading.
3. Strong strands may use confirmation challenges while developing strands receive full guided practice.
4. Every week uses application and mastery evidence. Missed reasoning is corrected rather than hidden by repeated guessing.
5. The cumulative Science Foundations Mastery Assessment requires ≥80% overall plus required reasoning corrections and no unresolved essential gap.
6. Successful completion routes directly to Official Unit 1. Prior course-completion records are never erased by placement or refresh results.
Week 1
Scientific Thinking & Evidence
Observation and inference, testable questions, variables, claims, evidence, reasoning, uncertainty, correlation and causation, and model limits.
Scientific Practices · 80% mastery
Week 2
Measurement & Quantitative Science
Units, conversions, accuracy and precision, uncertainty, density, rates, percent change, estimation, and defensible numerical reporting.
Measurement & Quantitative Reasoning · 80% mastery
Week 3
Tables, Graphs & Data
Variables, graph choice, quantitative observations, trends, interval rates, variability, misleading axes, association, and evidence boundaries.
Data & Evidence · 80% mastery
Week 4
Matter & Energy Foundations
Particles, atoms and molecules, physical and chemical change, conservation, system boundaries, temperature, thermal energy, and energy transfer.
Matter & Energy · 80% mastery
Week 5
Cells, Scale & Biological Organization
Cells as systems, membranes, diffusion, osmosis, surface-area-to-volume reasoning, biological organization, scale bars, and cross-scale transport.
Life Science Foundations · 80% mastery
Week 6
Systems, Models & Scientific Reading
System boundaries, causal models, feedback, scientific prose/figures/tables, source evaluation, citation, evidence triangulation, and model revision.
Systems & Scientific Literacy · 80% mastery
Final bridge gateway
Science Foundations Mastery Assessment
After the six refresher weeks, students complete a 30-prompt cumulative assessment spanning all six strands plus an integrated scientific performance task. 24/30 = 80%. NAIB reports both the overall result and strand profile.
Students below mastery receive the smallest effective targeted refresh and a parallel reassessment rather than automatically repeating the entire course.