NY Middle School 6-8 Science Claims and Evidence
| Performance expectations | 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 MS level claims-and-evidence from the educator guide which provide further insight on the types of questions that might appear on the grade 8 state exam.
Claim #1 (Physical Science):
A student can apply scientific practices, principles, and technologies to the structure and properties of matter, chemical reactions between substances, forces and their different types of interactions, the types and transfer of energy, and the properties of waves and their interaction with different intervening substances.
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:
- identifying substances based on their chemical and physical properties, and investigating if a chemical reaction or physical change occurs when substances are mixed; MS-PS1-7, MS-PS1-8, MS-PS1-2
- describing the changes that occur to a substance when thermal energy is added or removed, and developing a device that optimizes either the absorption or release of thermal energy; MS-PS1-4, MS-PS1-6, MS-PS3-3
- modeling the atomic structure of substances, and investigating the conservation of mass in chemical reactions; MS-PS1-1, MS-PS1-5
- describing the societal impacts of developing and using synthetic materials; MS-PS1-3
- investigating the effects of forces on objects by applying Newton’s Laws of Motion; MS-PS2-1, MS-PS2-2
- investigating magnetic and electric forces and providing evidence that fields exist between objects exerting these forces; MS-PS2-3, MS-PS2-5
- providing evidence for the factors that affect attractive gravitational interactions; MS-PS2-4
- analyzing empirical data pertaining to the factors that affect kinetic energy; MS-PS3-1
- modeling how distance between objects affects the potential energy of a system; MS-PS3-2
- investigating the factors that affect thermal energy transfer in a sample of matter; MS-PS3-4
- providing empirical evidence that when work is done on or by a system, the energy in that system changes; MS-PS3-5
- investigating electric currents and energy transfer; MS-PS3-6
- quantitatively and qualitatively modeling the characteristics and energy of waves; MS-PS4-1
- modeling the interactions between waves and matter; MS-PS4-2
- comparing digital and analog signals using qualitative information. MS-PS4-3
Claim #2 (Life Science):
A student can apply scientific practices, principles, and technologies to the basic structure, function, and organization of living things, which allows for the synthesis of information and homeostasis, the cycling of matter and flow of energy through organisms and ecosystems, the interactions between living things that maintain biodiversity and ecosystem stability, the factors that affect and influence growth, development, and reproduction of organisms, and the evolutionary relationships between organisms and how natural selection and adaptation has led to changes in life on Earth.
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 and modeling the structure and function of cells and cell parts; MS-LS1-1, MS-LS1-2
- describing the evidence for how interacting body systems maintain homeostasis; MS-LS1-3
- synthesizing information about organisms’ responses to stimuli; MS-LS1-8
- explaining and modeling the flow of energy and the cycling of matter within organisms and within their ecosystems; MS-LS1-6, MS-LS1-7, MS-LS2-3
- providing evidence for how populations are affected by changes to their ecosystem and resource availability; MS-LS2-1, MS-LS2-4
- predicting patterns of interactions among organisms in ecosystems; MS-LS2-2
- evaluating solutions to environmental problems based on their ability to maintain a healthy, stable ecosystem; MS-LS2-5
- using evidence to explain how specific behaviors and structures lead to successful reproduction in organisms; MS-LS1-4
- explaining how the growth of organisms is affected by various factors; MS-LS1-5
- modeling why changes to genes can affect the structure and function of organisms; MS-LS3-1
- modeling the genetic outcomes of sexual and asexual reproduction; MS-LS3-2
- describing technologies that influence the inheritance of genetic traits; MS-LS4-5
- identifying structural patterns in fossils as evidence for change in life forms throughout Earth’s history; MS-LS4-1
- comparing anatomical patterns in organisms in order to explain evolutionary relationships among organisms; MS-LS4-1, MS-LS4-3
- using evidence to explain natural selection and adaptation in populations. MS-LS4-4, MS-LS4-6
Claim #3 (Earth and Space Sciences):
A student can apply scientific practices, principles, and technologies to the cyclic patterns and scale properties of objects in the solar system and the role of gravity in the motions of objects within space systems, the evidence from geoscience processes and plate tectonics, at varying scales, to explain the history of Earth, the flow of energy that drives the cycling of Earth’s materials resulting in an uneven distribution of resources, the causes for the change in weather and climate patterns, the impact humans have on Earth’s systems, and the mitigation of the effects of natural hazards on humans.
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:
- modeling to describe the cyclic patterns of events that occur due to motions in the Sun-Earth- Moon system; MS-ESS1-1
- modeling to describe the influence of gravity on celestial motions; MS-ESS1-2
- analyzing empirical data to compare properties of solar system objects; MS-ESS1-3
- explaining Earth’s history using evidence from rock strata; MS-ESS1-4
- explaining how Earth’s surface has changed at different temporal and spatial scales; MS-ESS2-2
- analyzing data to provide evidence that tectonic plates have moved; MS-ESS2-3
- modeling to describe how energy drives the cycling of Earth materials; MS-ESS2-1, MS-ESS2-4
- explaining how geologic processes influence the distribution of Earth’s resources; MS-ESS3-1
- using data to describe the relationship between air mass interactions and weather; MS-ESS2-5
- modeling patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation to determine their effect on climate; MS-ESS2-6
- asking questions about the factors that cause global warming; MS-ESS3-5
- analyzing data to predict and mitigate the effects of natural hazards; MS-ESS3-2
- optimizing design solutions that reduce a human environmental impact; MS-ESS3-3
- using evidence to identify the relationship between human population growth and its impact on natural resources and the environment. MS-ESS3-4
Claim #4 (Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science):
A student, using the relationships between engineering, technology, and applications of science, can identify criteria and constraints of a design problem to generate, evaluate, and test competing design solutions in order to develop a new solution such that an optimal design is achieved based on iterative testing and modification.
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: