Biology claims and evidence

Performance expectations

Claims and evidence

In June 2024, the Office of State Assessment released the Educator Guide to the Regents Examination in Life Science: Biology. Below are the claims-and-evidence from the educator guide which provide further insight on the types of questions that might appear on the Regents exam.

Claim #1 (Structure and Function):
A student will be able to construct an explanation based on evidence that living things rely on systems that interact and the role of feedback mechanisms and homeostasis.

Evidence: A student demonstrates an understanding of structure and function by using science and engineering practices, core ideas, and crosscutting concepts related to interacting living systems, planning and conducting investigations, developing models and constructing explanations by:

• Identifying questions regarding phenomenon to investigate a feedback mechanism; HS-LS1-3
• Developing an investigation plan to collect evidence that answers a question about feedback mechanisms and homeostasis; HS-LS1-3
• Describing the change in a system, how the response will be measured, and how the response changes the system; HS-LS1-2
• Collecting relevant data to construct explanations; HS-LS1-3
• Using a variety of valid and reliable sources to show that living things rely on interacting systems; HS-LS1-2
• The interactions between systems provide specific functions; HS-LS1-2, HS-LS1-1
• Explaining that the structure of DNA determines the structure of proteins; HS-LS1-1
• All cells contain genetic information in the form of DNA; HS-LS1-1