HS-LS4-1 | Evidence for Evolution

From NY Science Standards Wiki
← HS-LS3-3
HS-LS4-2 →

Communicate scientific information that common ancestry and biological evolution are supported by multiple lines of empirical evidence.

Clarification statement: Emphasis is on a conceptual understanding of the role each line of evidence has relating to common ancestry and biological evolution. Examples of evidence could include similarities in DNA sequences, anatomical structures, and order of appearance of structures in embryological development.

Assessment

What assessment of HS-LS4-1 might look like on a NY state exam.

Exam Cluster Question
August 2026 A Tale of Two Squirrels Question 23
June 2026 Tailless Humans Question 19
Australian Adaptations Question 42
January 2026 A Hard Pest to Manage Question 22
Baboon Evolution Question 33
August 2025 Evolutionary Relationships Question 33
Evolutionary Relationships Question 35
Evolutionary Relationships Question 36
June 2025 Heads or Tails? Question 15
Limb Evolution Question 28
Limb Evolution Question 29
Limb Evolution Question 31

Performance Level Descriptions

PLDs communicate the knowledge and skills expected of students to demonstrate proficiency in each Learning Standard. NYS assessments classify student performance into one of five levels.

☐
Level 1: Use information to identify the empirical evidence, from those provided, for common ancestry.
☐
Level 2: Identify scientific information that is supported by empirical evidence for common ancestry and/or evolution.
☐
Level 3: Describe the scientific information that is supported by empirical evidence for common ancestry and/or evolution.
☐
Level 4: Communicate scientific information that common ancestry and biological evolution are supported by multiple lines of empirical evidence.
☐
Level 5: Compare and evaluate sources of information illustrating patterns showing that common ancestry and biological evolution are supported by multiple lines of empirical evidence and communicate findings.

Vocabulary

Terms from the Biology Glossary that come from this standard or from the released exam questions that assess it.

From this standard
  • amino acid sequence
  • anatomical structure
  • common ancestry
  • DNA sequence
  • embryology
  • empirical evidence
  • evolution
  • genetic information
  • lines of descent
  • scientific theory
  • species
From released exam questions
Implied by this standard
  • homologous structure – implied by "anatomical structures"
  • vestigial structure – Aug 2025 Evolutionary Relationships shows the non-functional pelvis and hind-limb bones of extinct whale ancestors without naming the idea.

Resources

Examples and discussion of resources for the learning, teaching, and assessment of HS-LS4-1.

Pixel beaver This section could be expanded upon. You can help out by adding to this section.


NGSS Dimensions

Performance expectation HS-LS4-1 was developed using the following elements from the NRC document A Framework for K-12 Science Education:

Science and Engineering Practices
  • Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information:
    • Communicate scientific information (e.g., about phenomena and/or the process of development and the design and performance of a proposed process or system) in multiple formats (including orally, graphically, textually, and mathematically).
  • Science Models, Laws, Mechanisms, and Theories Explain Natural Phenomena
    • A scientific theory is a substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on a body of facts that have been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experiment and the science community validates each theory before it is accepted. If new evidence is discovered that the theory does not accommodate, the theory is generally modified in light of this new evidence.
Disciplinary Core Ideas
  • LS4.A: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity
    • Genetic information provides evidence of evolution. DNA sequences vary among species, but there are many overlaps; in fact, the ongoing branching that produces multiple lines of descent can be inferred by comparing the DNA sequences of different organisms. Such information is also derivable from the similarities and differences in amino acid sequences and anatomical evidence.
Crosscutting Concepts
  • Patterns:
    • Different patterns may be observed at each of the scales at which a system is studied and can provide evidence for causality in explanations of phenomena.
  • Scientific Knowledge Assumes an Order and Consistency in Natural Systems
    • Scientific knowledge is based on the assumption that natural laws operate today as they did in the past and they will continue to do so in the future.
Page contributors: Conrad Richman, Caroline Leonard
Biology | HS. Natural Selection and Evolution
Retrieved from "https://nyssls.info/index.php?title=HS-LS4-1&oldid=5733"

About Us • Privacy Policy • Contact Us • Terms of Use