Test Design and 
Test Framework

Field 242: Science: Environmental Science

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The test design below describes general test information. The framework that follows is a detailed outline that explains the knowledge and skills that this test measures.

Test Design

Format	Computer-based test (CBT)
Number of Questions	100 multiple-choice questions
Time*	3 hours, 15 minutes
Passing Score	240

*Does not include 15-minute CBT tutorial

Test Framework

Subarea 1—Science Process Skills

0001—Understand practices of science and engineering.

For example:

• Apply knowledge of the development of scientific ideas and models, characteristics of models, and how models are used to build and revise scientific explanations and to design and improve engineering systems.
• Demonstrate knowledge of how to ask questions that arise from observation, to seek additional information, to identify relationships, and to pose problems that can be solved through scientific investigation.
• Apply knowledge of how to plan and conduct scientific investigations, including safety considerations and the use of appropriate tools and technologies.
• Demonstrate knowledge of how to obtain, evaluate, and communicate scientific information (e.g., recognizing appropriate sources of scientific information, integrating information from multiple sources, evaluating the validity of claims, recognizing bias).
• Demonstrate knowledge of how to collect, manage, analyze, and interpret scientific and engineering data and information; use mathematics and computational thinking to represent and solve scientific and engineering problems; and draw appropriate and logical conclusions based on evidence.
• Demonstrate the ability to construct and analyze scientific explanations and to evaluate scientific arguments and solutions in terms of their supporting evidence and reasoning (e.g., distinguishing between correlation and causation).
• Apply knowledge of grade-level-appropriate activities and investigations, instructional resources and technologies, and assessment methods for teaching students how to use basic concepts, materials, tools, and scientific and engineering practices; and to make connections between science and engineering, other learning areas, and daily life.

0002—Understand crosscutting concepts and their applications across science and engineering disciplines.

For example:

• Apply knowledge of patterns in natural and engineered systems.
• Analyze cause-and-effect relationships and their mechanisms in natural and engineered systems.
• Apply concepts of scale, proportion, and quantity to describe and analyze natural and engineered systems.
• Demonstrate knowledge of how systems are defined and studied and of how models of different types of natural and engineered systems are used to investigate and make predictions about a system.
• Identify relationships between the flow, cycling, and conservation of energy and matter to describe the inputs, outputs, and operation of natural and engineered systems and surroundings.
• Analyze the relationships between the structural components that make up natural and engineered systems and the functioning of these systems.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the factors that contribute to stability and change in systems (e.g., positive and negative feedback, static and dynamic equilibrium) and of the factors that can alter rates of change in systems (e.g., temperature, tipping points).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the ways that science, engineering, and technology are interdependent in modern society and the influence of science, engineering, and technology on nature and society.
• Apply knowledge of grade-level-appropriate activities and investigations, instructional resources and technologies, and assessment methods for promoting and evaluating students' understanding of crosscutting concepts and of the connections between science, engineering, technology, and society.

0003—Understand the process of reading, and apply knowledge of strategies for promoting students' reading development in the science classroom.

For example:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the reading process (e.g., the construction of meaning through interactions between a reader's prior knowledge, information in the text, and the purpose of the reading situation), and apply knowledge of strategies for integrating the language arts into science instruction to support students' reading and concept development (e.g., providing purposeful opportunities for students to read, write about, and discuss content in order to improve their understanding).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the role of vocabulary knowledge in supporting students' reading comprehension and concept development, and apply knowledge of strategies for promoting students' discipline-specific vocabulary development (e.g., recognizing structural and/or meaning-based relationships between words, using context clues, distinguishing denotative and connotative meanings of words, interpreting idioms and figurative language, consulting specialized reference materials).
• Apply knowledge of strategies for preparing students to read text effectively and teaching and modeling the use of comprehension strategies before, during, and after reading, including strategies that promote close reading (e.g., breaking down complex sentences, monitoring for comprehension to correct confusions and misunderstandings that arise during reading).
• Apply knowledge of strategies for developing students' ability to comprehend and critically analyze discipline-specific texts, including recognizing organizational patterns unique to informational texts; using graphic organizers as an aid for analyzing and recalling information from texts; analyzing and summarizing an author's argument, claims, evidence, and point of view; evaluating the credibility of sources; and synthesizing multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats.
• Apply knowledge of strategies for evaluating, selecting, modifying, and designing reading materials appropriate to the academic task and students' reading abilities (e.g., analyzing instructional materials in terms of readability, content, length, format, illustrations, graphs, tables, and other pertinent factors).
• Apply knowledge of strategies for providing continuous monitoring of students' reading progress through observations, work samples, and various informal assessments and for differentiating science instruction to address all students' assessed reading needs.

 

Subarea 2—Disciplinary Core Ideas

0004—Understand the disciplinary core ideas of chemistry.

For example:

• Apply knowledge of the structure of atoms and molecules and how to differentiate between ions, molecules, elements, and compounds.
• Apply knowledge of the development and organization of the periodic table and how to predict the properties of elements on the basis of their positions in the periodic table.
• Analyze and predict the outcome of a chemical reaction based on the outermost electron states of atoms, trends in the periodic table, and patterns of chemical properties.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the composition of the nucleus and characteristics of nuclear decay, fission, and fusion.
• Recognize the types of chemical reactions and their applications and that chemical reactions can be understood in terms of the collisions between ions, atoms, or molecules and the rearrangement of particles.
• Apply the principles of conservation of matter to balance chemical equations.
• Apply knowledge of the nature of the forces between particles to the phases and properties of matter (e.g., mass, density, specific heat, melting point, solubility) and of the energy changes that accompany changes in states of matter.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the effect of temperature, pressure, and concentration on chemical equilibrium (i.e., Le Chatelier's principle) and reaction rate.
• Apply knowledge of the engineering design process (e.g., define the problem, design solutions, optimize solutions) and chemistry concepts, including their use in technology and scientific applications (e.g., synthesizing materials, designing a cold pack).
• Apply knowledge of grade-level-appropriate activities and investigations, instructional resources and technologies, and assessment methods for teaching students how to use basic concepts, materials, tools, and scientific practices in chemistry; and to make connections between chemistry, engineering, other learning areas, and daily life.

0005—Understand the disciplinary core ideas of physics.

For example:

• Apply knowledge of the description of motion and the use of Newton's second law to analyze situations and data (e.g., graphs, tables) involving the forces on and the motion of an object.
• Demonstrate knowledge of mathematical representations to support the claim that the total momentum of a system is conserved when there is no net external force on the system.
• Demonstrate knowledge of factors that influence the gravitational force and the Coulomb force between two objects.
• Apply relationships between force, work, energy, and power; concepts associated with mechanical energy (i.e., kinetic and potential); and the conservation of energy.
• Demonstrate knowledge of energy at the macroscopic level (e.g., motion, sound, light, thermal energy) and microscopic level (e.g., average molecular kinetic energy of particles).
• Demonstrate knowledge of factors that affect the transfer and transformations of energy between systems (e.g., type of matter, mass, change in temperature, phase).
• Demonstrate knowledge of electricity and magnetism, the source of electric and magnetic fields, and applications of electromagnetism (e.g., simple circuits, electromagnets, generators, motors).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the nature and properties of mechanical (i.e., matter) and electromagnetic waves (e.g., medium, frequency, wavelength, amplitude, polarization, reflection, refraction, diffraction, interference) and their applications (e.g., musical instruments, lenses).
• Demonstrate knowledge of relationships between waves, energy, transmission of information, and information technologies.
• Apply knowledge of the engineering design process (e.g., define the problem, design solutions, optimize solutions) and physics concepts, including their use in technology and scientific applications (e.g., build a device to convert one type of energy to another, modify a model that demonstrates the law of conservation of momentum).
• Apply knowledge of grade-level-appropriate activities and investigations, instructional resources and technologies, and assessment methods for teaching students how to use basic concepts, materials, tools, and scientific practices in physics; and to make connections between physics, engineering, other learning areas, and daily life.

0006—Understand the disciplinary core ideas of biology.

For example:

• Apply knowledge of the characteristics of viruses, the structures and functions of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, and how cellular organelles contribute to cell function.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the structure and function of different molecules (e.g., carbohydrates, proteins) in living organisms and how photosynthesis, respiration (both anaerobic and aerobic), and the breakdown of food all cycle energy and matter through the body.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the hierarchical structure of multicellular organisms (i.e., cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems), major anatomical structures and systems and life processes of plants and animals, and feedback mechanisms responsible for maintaining homeostasis.
• Demonstrate knowledge of processes of growth and development in unicellular and multicellular organisms, including mitosis and cellular differentiation.
• Apply knowledge of asexual and sexual reproduction in prokaryotes, plants, and animals and the nature of meiosis and its role in sexual reproduction.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the structure and function of DNA, genes, and chromosomes; their role in determining inherited traits; and how genotypes influence phenotypes (e.g., dominant and recessive traits).
• Demonstrate knowledge of how individuals and species adapt to their environments, how natural selection leads to increases of genetic traits within a population that favor the reproductive success of some individuals over others, and lines of evidence for biological evolution (e.g., fossil record, genetics).
• Apply knowledge of the engineering design process (e.g., define the problem, design solutions, optimize solutions) and biology concepts, including their use in technology and scientific applications (e.g., genetic engineering, modeling a food web).
• Apply knowledge of grade-level-appropriate activities and investigations, instructional resources and technologies, and assessment methods for teaching students how to use basic concepts, materials, tools, and scientific practices in biology; and to make connections between biology, engineering, other learning areas, and daily life.

0007—Understand the disciplinary core ideas of Earth and space science.

For example:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the Big Bang theory of the origin and evolution of the universe, including understanding supporting evidence of this theory (e.g., light spectra, composition of matter).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the theories explaining the formation of the solar system and planets, including understanding supporting evidence of these theories (e.g., composition of matter, lunar rocks, meteorites).
• Demonstrate knowledge of characteristics of objects in the universe (e.g., stars, galaxies), including understanding stellar life cycles and the basic process of nuclear fusion in stars.
• Apply knowledge of the regular and predictable patterns of movements of stars, planets, Earth, and the moon, including their effects on Earth's systems (e.g., seasons, eclipses, tides) and the physical laws that govern their movement (e.g., Kepler's laws, Newton's laws).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the structure and composition of Earth's interior and methods for studying Earth's interior (e.g., seismic waves, magnetic data).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the evidence used to develop the geologic timescale, including relative and absolute dating techniques (e.g., fossil record, stratigraphy, radiometric dating).
• Demonstrate knowledge of geologic processes (e.g., plate tectonics, weathering, transport) and recognize their role in the formation and presence of geographic features (e.g., mountains, valleys, seamounts) and in the formation and distribution of Earth materials (e.g., minerals; igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the evidence for plate tectonics (e.g., ages of rocks, fossil distribution) and factors that affect the large-scale motions of tectonic plates (e.g., thermal convection, density and buoyancy of rock).
• Demonstrate knowledge of how the motions of tectonic plates relate to earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain building, and the formation of sea-floor structures (e.g., seafloor spreading at ocean ridges, subduction at ocean trenches).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the physical and chemical properties of water, the hydrological cycle, and how water affects Earth materials.
• Apply knowledge of the movement and interactions of air masses; convection, conduction, and radiation; and the rotation of Earth (e.g., day-night cycle, Coriolis effect) to the formation of local and global weather patterns.
• Apply knowledge of the engineering design process (e.g., define the problem, design solutions, optimize solutions) and Earth and space science concepts, including their use in technology and scientific applications (e.g., evaluate a design intended to mitigate a natural disaster).
• Apply knowledge of grade-level-appropriate activities and investigations, instructional resources and technologies, and assessment methods for teaching students how to use basic concepts, materials, tools, and scientific practices in Earth and space science; and to make connections between Earth and space science, engineering, other learning areas, and daily life.

0008—Understand the disciplinary core ideas of environmental science.

For example:

• Analyze energy flow, nutrient cycling, and matter transfer in ecosystems (e.g., food webs, biogeochemical cycles), including the roles of photosynthesis, respiration, and decomposition.
• Demonstrate knowledge of abiotic and biotic components of various types of ecosystems; interrelationships within and among ecosystems; and factors that affect population types, sizes, and carrying capacities in ecosystems (e.g., availability of resources, predation, competition, disease).
• Demonstrate understanding of the coevolution of Earth's systems and life on Earth (e.g., production of oxygen by early photosynthetic organisms, formation of soil through microbial action).
• Analyze how changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations and how natural and human-caused factors affect biodiversity in different types and scales of ecosystems.
• Demonstrate knowledge of renewable and nonrenewable natural resources, including energy; the costs and environmental impacts of extracting natural resources; and how sustainable practices are used to minimize environmental damages and maintain access to renewable resources.
• Recognize the causes of natural hazards (e.g., earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, droughts, floods, hurricanes), their impact on human societies and infrastructure, and how human activities can affect the frequency and severity of natural hazards (e.g., climate change increasing droughts and hurricanes).
• Demonstrate knowledge of short-term (e.g., greenhouse effect, ocean acidification, burning of fossil fuels, volcanic eruptions), intermediate (e.g., solar cycles), and long-term (e.g., changes in the tilt of Earth's axis, changes in Earth's orbit) factors that affect Earth's climate.
• Analyze the various ways that humans affect Earth's systems (e.g., land use patterns, global climate change, water and air pollution, habitat destruction) and engineering strategies for mitigating and reversing human-caused adverse impacts on the environment.
• Demonstrate understanding of societal, economic, and cultural influences on the environmental decision-making process and the potential and actual impacts of local, state, national, and global policies on environmental issues.
• Apply knowledge of the engineering design process (e.g., define the problem, design solutions, optimize solutions) and environmental science concepts, including their use in technology and scientific applications (e.g., designing an efficient composting system, creating a soil erosion barrier).
• Apply knowledge of grade-level-appropriate activities and investigations, instructional resources and technologies, and assessment methods for teaching students how to use basic concepts, materials, tools, and scientific practices in environmental science; and to make connections between environmental science, engineering, other learning areas, and daily life.

 

Subarea 3—The Biosphere

0009—Understand ecological systems.

For example:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the concept and measures of biodiversity and the importance of biodiversity for maintaining a healthy ecosystem.
• Apply knowledge of the processes of adaptation, natural selection, and speciation.
• Identify the relationship of a species' characteristics with the behavior of individuals of that species and recognize r/K selection, including the relationship to the species' life history (e.g., diet, mating, strategy, size).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the types and characteristics of interactions of individuals in different species (e.g., niche, competition, mutualism, commensalism, predation) and the effects of these interactions on their growth and behavior.
• Apply knowledge of population dynamics (e.g., population growth rate, emigration, mortality rate), including the determination of the distribution of organisms in various environments.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the concept of carrying capacity and the abiotic and biotic factors that determine the carrying capacity of a particular ecosystem.
• Apply knowledge of the levels of ecological organization and the scale of living environments (e.g., organism, population, community, ecosystem); and identify the characteristics of Earth's major terrestrial and aquatic biomes (e.g., deciduous forest, savannah, benthic, estuarine).
• Demonstrate knowledge of factors affecting stability and change in ecological systems (e.g., climate conditions, resource availability, disease) and the process of succession, including understanding factors that determine the relative fragility or resilience of an ecosystem.
• Apply knowledge of grade-level-appropriate activities and investigations, instructional resources and technologies, safety considerations, and assessment methods for teaching students how to use concepts, materials, tools, and scientific practices to develop an understanding of ecological systems; and to make connections between ecological systems, other learning areas, and daily life.

0010—Understand the cycling of matter and the flow of energy.

For example:

• Analyze the effects of the flow of energy from the sun on a global scale, including its effects on the climate system (e.g., seasons, climate zones, feedback mechanisms).
• Apply knowledge of biogeochemical cycles (e.g., nitrogen, phosphorous, carbon, oxygen) and their effects on the biosphere.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the characteristics and processes of the hydrologic cycle and its effects on the biosphere.
• Describe how the laws of thermodynamics apply to the cycling and transfer of energy within the biosphere (e.g., energy uptake, growth, energy transfer in food webs).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the processes of photosynthesis and respiration (e.g., aerobic and anaerobic), including the interactions of biotic and abiotic factors that support each process.
• Analyze the flow of energy through the trophic levels (e.g., producers, consumers) of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and the inputs and outputs of ecosystems.
• Recognize the role of biodiversity in the cycling of matter and the flow of energy (e.g., ecological stability, keystone species).
• Apply knowledge of grade-level-appropriate activities and investigations, instructional resources and technologies, safety considerations, and assessment methods for teaching students how to use concepts, materials, tools, and scientific practices to develop an understanding of the cycling of matter and flow of energy; and to make connections between the study of the cycling of matter and flow of energy, other learning areas, and daily life.

0011—Understand the interactions of the biosphere and geosphere.

For example:

• Recognize the distribution and characteristics of various natural resources (e.g., water, soil, minerals) and their relationship to the biosphere at different levels (e.g., individual, species, population).
• Demonstrate knowledge of climate conditions (e.g., precipitation, seasonality, elevation, temperature) and their effects on the biosphere.
• Recognize the characteristics of different types of landforms (e.g., islands, mountains, deltas, hydrothermal vents) and the effects these landforms have on climate and conditions for life.
• Apply knowledge of the effects of the biosphere on the lithosphere (e.g., formation of calcium carbonate rocks, reduction in albedo), atmosphere (e.g., production of oxygen), and hydrosphere (e.g., movement, filtration).
• Apply knowledge of how changes in the physical and chemical characteristics of the lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere have affected the biosphere (e.g., soil erosion, separation of populations, resource availability).
• Analyze ways in which the resilience and function of ecosystems and the environment are affected by density-dependent and density-independent factors (e.g., catastrophic events, species migrations, disease epidemics, climate change), differentiating between short-term and long-term effects.
• Demonstrate knowledge of reasons for extinctions; changes in the lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere resulting in mass extinctions in the past; the process of extinction; and the role of extinctions in evolutionary change.
• Apply knowledge of grade-level-appropriate activities and investigations, instructional resources and technologies, safety considerations, and assessment methods for teaching students how to use concepts, materials, tools, and scientific practices to develop an understanding of the interactions of the biosphere and geosphere; and to make connections between the interactions of the biosphere and geosphere, other learning areas, and daily life.

 

Subarea 4—Human-Environment Interactions

0012—Understand the effects of human activities on the biosphere and strategies for mitigating those effects.

For example:

• Apply knowledge of human population growth and per-capita consumption related to industrialization and urbanization as well as how climate, the availability of natural resources, and the occurrences of natural hazards have influenced human populations and activity (e.g., human migrations, technological advancements).
• Apply knowledge of the characteristics of various types of pollutants and contaminants produced or released by human activities (e.g., carbon dioxide, pharmaceuticals, excess nutrients, pesticides), including their effects on the biosphere.
• Apply knowledge of human activities to changes in the atmosphere, weather, and climate (e.g., global climate change, severe weather events, heat islands, acid rain, ozone, particulate pollution, albedo).
• Analyze the types and characteristics of human land use (e.g., urban development, monoculture, grazing, agricultural production on marginal land), including the effects of those uses on the biosphere (e.g., introduction of invasive species, reduction of biodiversity, soil erosion and depletion, deforestation, habitat fragmentation, desertification).
• Analyze human use of water resources (e.g., exploitation of aquifers, agricultural runoff, filling in of wetlands, channeling rivers), including the effects of those uses on the biosphere (eutrophication, land subsidence, increased severity of storm surges).
• Analyze extractive industries (e.g., mining, drilling, hydrological fracturing), including the effects of those industries on the biosphere (e.g., heavy metal pollution, oil spills, increased earthquakes).
• Analyze characteristics, advantages, disadvantages, and effects on ecosystems of different strategies for production and use of energy that meet the needs of human populations (e.g., fossil fuel, solar, wind, geothermal, biofuels).
• Demonstrate knowledge of strategies and conservation methods that mitigate the effects of human activity in ecosystems, including through the prevention of ecosystem degradation (e.g., no-till plowing, sustainable agriculture, land reserves, recycling, waste disposal methods, incineration).
• Demonstrate knowledge of technologies that limit the negative effects of human activity on the biosphere, including through the engineered decrease in waste and pollution (e.g., bioremediation, strip-mine restoration, carbon dioxide sequestration, wastewater treatment, cool roofs).
• Apply knowledge of grade-level-appropriate activities and investigations, instructional resources and technologies, safety considerations, and assessment methods for teaching students how to use concepts, materials, tools, and scientific practices to develop an understanding of the effects of human activities on the biosphere; and to make connections between the effects of human activities on the biosphere, other learning areas, and daily life.

0013—Understand social, economic, political, legal, and regulatory factors that influence the environment.

For example:

• Demonstrate knowledge of significant events in the history of the environmental movement in the United States and the world (e.g., Earth Day, Love Canal, UN Climate Change Conferences, indigenous resistance to deforestation), including the contribution of major figures in the environmental movement (e.g., John Muir, Rachel Carson, Jane Goodall, Wangari Maathai, E. O. Wilson, Aldo Leopold, Chico Mendes).
• Recognize major national and global organizations (e.g., Greenpeace, International Union for Conservation of Nature, World Wide Fund for Nature) and regulatory agencies (e.g., U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Interior Department, United Nations Environment Programme), including their history, significant mandates, and effectiveness.
• Recognize significant local, national, and international laws, regulations, and policies that influence local, regional, and global environments (e.g., zoning and land use regulations, conservation easements, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards, Superfund, Paris Agreement).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the economics of environmental problems, including the challenges of reflecting environmental considerations in national income accounting, comprehensively measuring social costs and benefits, and aligning them to achieve full-cost pricing through market-based or incentive-based policies (e.g., Environmental Performance Index [EPI], taxes, subsidies, tradable permits).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the interactive relationships between socioeconomic factors and the environment, including the environmental challenges facing developing countries; and strategies to promote economic growth while maintaining environmental protections (e.g., ecotourism; sustainable forestry, fisheries, and agriculture; organic and fair-trade production).
• Demonstrate knowledge of demographic influences on human populations, including the causes and consequences of the demographic transition, the problems that stem from population growth and decline, and how societies have enacted policies to influence their populations and demographic profiles.
• Demonstrate knowledge of social and cultural factors that influence environmental policies and practices (e.g., indigenous beliefs, income inequality, private vs. public ownership of land and resources, perception of value, individual environmental stewardship).
• Apply knowledge of grade-level-appropriate activities and investigations, instructional resources and technologies, safety considerations, and assessment methods for teaching students how to use concepts, materials, tools, and scientific practices to develop an understanding of the social, economic, political, legal, and regulatory factors that influence the environment; and to make connections between the social, economic, political, legal, and regulatory factors that influence the environment, other learning areas, and daily life.

 

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