HS-LS1-3

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Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that feedback mechanisms maintain homeostasis

Clarification statement: Examples of investigations could include heart rate response to exercise, stomate response to moisture and temperature, and root development in response to water levels.

Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include the cellular processes involved in the feedback mechanism.

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.

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Level 1: Given an investigation with data, identify an explanation for how a feedback mechanism maintains homeostasis.

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Level 2: Given an investigation with data, provide/identify the evidence that supports a claim that feedback mechanisms maintain homeostasis.

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Level 3: Plan an investigation that could provide evidence that feedback mechanisms maintain homeostasis or given a plan and the results of an investigation, describe the evidence that feedback mechanisms maintain homeostasis.

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Level 4: Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that feedback mechanisms maintain homeostasis.

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Level 5: Plan, conduct, and evaluate an investigation to provide evidence that feedback mechanisms maintain homeostasis.

Resources

Examples and discussion of resources for the learning, teaching, and assessment of HS-LS1-3.

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

Assessment

What assessment of HS-LS1-3 might look like on a NY state exam.

Exam	Cluster	Question
August 2026	Homeostasis in Plants	Question 32
	Homeostasis in Plants	Question 34
June 2026	A Seasonal Strategy for Survival	Question 2
	A Seasonal Strategy for Survival	Question 4
	Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)	Question 16
January 2026	Diabetes	Question 25
August 2025	Trees Have Organ Systems	Question 2
June 2025	Drinking Water Is Just The Beginning!	Question 8
	Drinking Water Is Just The Beginning!	Question 9
	Drinking Water Is Just The Beginning!	Question 10

NGSS Dimensions

Performance expectation HS-LS1-3 was developed using the following elements from the NRC document A Framework for K-12 Science Education:

Science and Engineering Practices

• Planning and Carrying Out Investigations
  • Plan and conduct an investigation individually and collaboratively to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence, and in the design: decide on types, how much, and accuracy of data needed to produce reliable measurements and consider limitations on the precision of the data (e.g., number of trials, cost, risk, time), and refine the design accordingly

Disciplinary Core Ideas

• LS1.A: Structure and Function
  • Feedback mechanisms maintain a living system’s internal conditions within certain limits and mediate behaviors, allowing it to remain alive and functional even as external conditions change within some range. Feedback mechanisms can encourage (through positive feedback) or discourage (negative feedback) what is going on inside the living system.
  • (NYSED) Disease is a failure of homeostasis. Organisms have a variety of mechanisms to prevent and combat disease. Technological advances including vaccinations and antibiotics have contributed to the prevention and treatment of disease.

Crosscutting Concepts

• Stability and Change
  • Feedback (negative or positive) can stabilize or destabilize a system.

Page contributors: Conrad Richman, Caroline Leonard

Biology | HS. Structure and Function