NY Elementary 3-5 Science Claims and Evidence

In July 2023, the Office of State Assessment released the Educator Guide to the 2024 Elementary-level (Grade 5) and Intermediate-level (Grade 8) Science Tests. Below are the elementary 3-5 claims-and-evidence from the educator guide which provide further insight on the types of questions that might appear on the grade 5 state exam.

Claim #1 (Physical Science):
A student can analyze and apply scientific ideas related to forces and motion, energy changes and energy conservation, patterns in wave properties and their application to transfer information, and the structures, properties, and interactions of matter within and between systems in the physical and biological world.

Evidence: A student demonstrates understanding of Physical Science through application, evaluation, analysis, and/or synthesis using Science and Engineering Practices, Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Crosscutting Concepts related to:

investigating the effects of forces on the motion of objects, and predicting future motion of objects based on observable patterns; 3-PS2-1, 3-PS2-2
investigating electromagnetic interactions between objects not in contact and applying these findings to a problem that can be solved using magnets; 3-PS2-3, 3-PS2-4
using evidence to describe the relationship between the speed and energy of an object; 4-PS3-1
providing evidence of the transfer, conversion, and conservation of energy and applying these processes to a design solution; 4-PS3-2, 4-PS3-4
addressing the phenomena of energy transfer that occurs when objects in a system collide; 4-PS3-3
illustrating wave characteristics and how wave behavior can affect the motion of objects; 4-PS4-1
using technologies and instruments to design solutions for the transfer of information; 4-PS4-3
modeling how the behavior of light enables objects to be seen; 4-PS4-2
using phenomena as evidence to illustrate that matter is composed of unseen particles; 5-PS1-1
investigating interactions of matter when substances are mixed to prove that matter is conserved and to determine if a new substance is being formed; 5-PS1-2, 5-PS1-4
identifying materials based on their properties; 5-PS1-3
describing how the energy from the Sun is used in life processes; 5-PS3-1
describing evidence for the effects of the force of gravity on Earth objects; 5-PS2-1

Claim #2 (Life Science):
A student can analyze scientific evidence and apply scientific ideas associated with life processes, the inheritance of traits, and the structure/function relationships between and within living systems, which affect the survival of living things in the physical environment.

Evidence: A student demonstrates understanding of Life Science through application, evaluation, analysis, and/or synthesis using Science and Engineering Practices, Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Crosscutting Concepts related to:

investigating a phenomenon to obtain evidence pertaining to animal group behavior and survival strategies; 3-LS2-1
utilizing fossil data to determine characteristics of early life forms and their environments; 3-LS4-1
investigating a phenomenon to obtain evidence for how the environment influences an organism’s ability to survive; 3-LS4-3
utilizing scientific evidence to evaluate a solution to an environmental change that affects living organisms; 3-LS4-4
illustrating life cycles of organisms; 3-LS1-1
providing evidence that organisms possess variations in traits that are inherited and can be influenced by the environment; 3-LS3-1, 3-LS3-2
explaining the scientific idea of natural selection; 3-LS4-2
providing evidence that plants and animals have structures that are beneficial to life; 4-LS1-1
describing the systems of information transfer to and within animals; 4-LS1-2
illustrating materials needed for growth of organisms and how these materials are cycled through the living and non-living environment. 5-LS1-1, 5-LS2-1

Claim #3 (Earth and Space Sciences):
A student can analyze scientific evidence of patterns and cause and effect relationships between Earth and its place in the solar system and between the interconnected processes and large-scale system interactions that operate among Earth’s spheres on different scales, including how these processes impact humans and how humans affect natural resources.

Evidence: A student demonstrates understanding of Earth and Space Sciences through application, evaluation, analysis, and/or synthesis using Science and Engineering Practices, Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Crosscutting Concepts related to:

using Earth system data to describe weather and climate conditions across various temporal and spatial scales; 3-ESS2-1, 3-ESS2-2
investigating the relationship between the movement of water among Earth’s spheres and weather; 3-ESS2-3
utilizing scientific evidence to mitigate meteorological hazards; 3-ESS3-1
synthesizing information about the impacts of using natural resources for energy; 4-ESS3-1
utilizing geologic data to determine past environments and landform characteristics; 4-ESS1-1
investigating the effects of weathering and erosion on Earth; 4-ESS2-1
using scientific evidence to identify patterns associated with large-scale system interactions; 4-ESS2-2
investigating design solutions to mitigate geologic hazards; 4-ESS3-2
illustrating the various connections between Earth’s spheres; 5-ESS2-1
describing the distribution of water on Earth; 5-ESS2-2
identifying conservation efforts related to Earth’s systems; 5-ESS3-1
describing the effect of spatial scale on the appearance of stars; 5-ESS1-1
identifying patterns that occur as a result of celestial motions. 5-ESS1-2

Claim #4 (Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science):
A student can identify problems and design and test solutions that fulfill human needs and wants, using the relationships between engineering, technology, and applications of science.

Evidence: A student demonstrates understanding of Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science through evaluation, analysis, and/or synthesis using Science and Engineering Practices, Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Crosscutting Concepts related to:

identifying a problem to solve, and specifying clear criteria and limitations in order to develop multiple solutions using the engineering design process; 3-5-ETS1-1, 3-5-ETS1-2
investigating and assessing design solutions. 3-5-ETS1-3