National Standards for All Grades - Fields of Science

Earth Science

The NAEP Science Assessment will probe student understanding of how Earth scientists depict data through maps and other means to interpret objects, their features and structures, and the events and processes that caused them. What do students know about their own position with respect to objects and structures on, below, and above the Earth’s surface? What do students know about the changes in position of objects and environments through time? What do students know about the relative movements of the Earth, the Moon, the Sun, and the planets? The content to be assessed in Earth science centers on objects and features that are relatively accessible or visible: the solid Earth (lithosphere), water (hydrosphere), air (atmosphere), and the Earth in space. With respect to Earth science, the NAEP Science Assessment should focus on the following concepts and topics.

Concepts related to solid Earth:

• composition of the Earth
• forces that alter the Earth's surface
• rocks and their formation, characteristics, and uses
• soil and its changes and uses
• natural resources used by humankind
• forces within the Earth

Concepts related to water:

• water cycle
• nature of the oceans and their effects on water and climate
• location, distribution, and characteristics of water, and its effect and influence on human activity

Concepts related to air:

• composition and structure of the atmosphere, including energy transfer
• nature of weather
• common weather hazards
• air quality and climate

Concepts related to Earth in space:

• setting of the Earth in the solar system
• setting and evolution of the solar system in the universe
• tools and technology used to gather information about space
• apparent daily motions of the Sun, the Moon, the planets, and the stars
• rotation of the Earth about its axis and the Earth’s revolution around the Sun
• tilt of the Earth’s axis that produces seasonal variations in climate
• Earth as a unique member of the solar system (may be approximated in other galaxies in the universe) that evolved at least 4.5 billion years ago

Physical Science

The physical science component of the NAEP Science Assessment relates to basic knowledge and understanding concerning the structure of the universe as well as the physical principles that operate within it. The assessment should probe the following major topics: matter and its transformations, energy and its transformations, and the motion of things. The NAEP Science Assessment should focus on the following physical science concepts.

Matter and its transformations:

• diversity of materials, including the classification, types, and particulate nature of matter
• temperature and states of matter
• properties and uses of material, including modifying properties and the synthesis of materials with new properties
• resource management

Energy and its transformations:

• forms of energy
• energy transformations in living systems, natural physical systems, and artificial systems constructed by humans
• energy sources and use, including distribution, energy conversion, and energy costs and depletion

 Motion:

• an understanding of frames of reference
• force and changes in position and motion
• action and reaction
• vibrations and waves as motion
• general wave behavior
• electromagnetic radiation
• interactions of electromagnetic radiation with matter

Life Science

The fundamental goal of life science is to attempt to understand and explain the nature and function of living things. During the 20th century, the focus of biological research has changed from descriptive natural history to experimental investigation, with evolution as the central, unifying theory. The following list contains the major concepts to be assessed in life science.

Change and evolution:

• diversity of life on Earth
• genetic variation within a species
• theories of adaptation and natural selection
• changes in diversity over time

Cells and their functions:

• information transfer
• energy transfer for the construction of proteins
• communication among cells

Organisms:

• reproduction, growth, and development
• life cycles
• functions and interactions of systems within organisms

Ecology:

• interdependence of life (populations, communities, and ecosystems)