HS-LS3-1 | DNA, Genes, and Traits

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Ask questions to clarify relationships about the role of DNA and chromosomes in coding the instructions for characteristic traits passed from parents to offspring.

Clarification statement: Emphasis should be on the distinction between coding and non-coding regions of DNA.

Note: this is a NYSED-specific performance expectation that is different from the Next Generation Science Standards.

Assessment

What assessment of HS-LS3-1 might look like on a NY state exam.

Exam	Cluster	Question
August 2026	Human Variations in Eye Color	Question 12
	Colorful Guppies	Question 17
June 2026	Green and Black Frogs	Question 10
	Tailless Humans	Question 21
	Caffeine’s Effect on the Body	Question 41
January 2026	Two Kinds of Twins	Question 4
	Space Invader	Question 6
	A Hard Pest to Manage	Question 20
	Zebra Coat Patterns	Question 41
June 2025	Heads or Tails?	Question 11
	Heads or Tails?	Question 14
	Nature or Nurture?	Question 43
Sample clusters (Spring 2024)	Prostaglandins	Question 4

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: Identify a question, from those provided, about the role of DNA and/or chromosomes in the passing of traits from parents to offspring.

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Level 2: Identify a question, from those provided, about the role of DNA and/or chromosomes in coding the instructions for characteristic traits passed from parents to offspring.

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Level 3: Ask a question to clarify the role of DNA and/or chromosomes in coding the instructions for characteristic traits passed from parents to offspring.

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Level 4: Ask questions to clarify relationships about the role of DNA and chromosomes in coding the instructions for characteristic traits passed from parents to offspring.

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Level 5: Ask questions to clarify relationships about the role of non-coding and coding regions of DNA, and chromosomes that pass the instructions for characteristic traits from parents to offspring.

Resources

Examples and discussion of resources for the learning, teaching, and assessment of HS-LS3-1.

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NGSS Dimensions

Performance expectation HS-LS3-1 was developed using the following elements from the NRC document A Framework for K-12 Science Education:

Science and Engineering Practices

• Asking Questions and Defining Problems
  • Ask questions that arise from examining models or a theory to clarify relationships.

Disciplinary Core Ideas

• LS1.A: Structure and Function
  • All cells contain genetic information in the form of DNA molecules. Genes are regions in the DNA that contain the instructions that code of the formation of proteins.
• LS3.A: Inheritance of Traits
  • Each chromosome consists of a single very long DNA molecule, and each gene on the chromosome is a particular segment of that DNA. The instructions for forming species' characteristics are carried in DNA. All cells in an organism have the same genetic content, but the genes used (expressed) by the cell may be regulated in different ways. Not all DNA codes for a protein; some segments of DNA are involved in regulatory or structural functions, and some have no as-yet known function.

Crosscutting Concepts

• Cause and Effect
  • Empirical evidence is required to differentiate between cause and correlation and make claims about specific causes and effects.

Page contributors: Conrad Richman, Caroline Leonard

Biology | HS. Inheritance and Variation of Traits