Preparing the next generation to tackle the climate crisis requires a thorough understanding of what K-16 students comprehend and perceive about climate change in today’s classrooms. Unlike many other topics taught when using the NGSS-framework (or similar frameworks), there are currently few validated assessment tools integrating climate change knowledge and appropriate values for multiple age levels. Moving towards validated assessment tools requires an understanding of how students learn about climate science across the curricula and which key concepts are most important for resolving misconceptions, building systems-level understanding, and ultimately taking action. Therefore, we invite proposals from colleagues that evaluate the topic of climate change and solutions in classrooms, work on conceptual scaffolding of climate knowledge, or seek to understand how to assess these concepts strategically and purposefully. This session aims to start a dialogue across theory and practice to develop standardized assessment tools for K-16 educators and venues for implementation.