Elementary Education K–6
Subtest 3: Science (603)

Test Competencies and Skills Worksheet

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Competency 1—Knowledge of effective science instruction

  • Approximate Percentage of Total Subtest Questions: 20%
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This section of the worksheet allows users to map the test competencies and skills to the curriculum by entering up to six courses in the course name fields, and checking the boxes if the content of the course covers the information described by the test skills in the rows below.
Skills Course 1:
 Course 2:
 Course 3:
 Course 4:
 Course 5:
 Course 6:
1. Analyze and apply developmentally appropriate researched-based strategies for teaching science practices.
2. Select and apply safe and effective instructional strategies to utilize manipulatives, models, scientific equipment, real-world examples, and print and digital representations to support and enhance science instruction.
3. Identify and analyze strategies for formal and informal learning experiences to provide a science curriculum that promotes students' innate curiosity and active inquiry (e.g., hands-on experiences, active engagement in the natural world, student interaction).
4. Select and analyze collaborative strategies to help students explain concepts, to introduce and clarify formal science terms, and to identify misconceptions.
5. Identify and apply appropriate reading strategies, mathematical practices, and science-content materials to enhance science instruction for learners at all levels.
6. Apply differentiated strategies in science instruction and assessments based on student needs.
7. Identify and apply ways to organize and manage a classroom for safe, effective science teaching that reflect state safety procedures and restrictions (e.g., procedures, equipment, disposal of chemicals, classroom layout, use of living organisms).
8. Select and apply appropriate technology, science tools and measurement units for students' use in data collection and the pursuit of science.
9. Select and analyze developmentally appropriate diagnostic, formative and summative assessments to evaluate prior knowledge, guide instruction, and evaluate student achievement.
10. Choose scientifically and professionally responsible content and activities that are socially and culturally sensitive.
Notes on Competency 1:

Competency 2—Knowledge of the nature of science

  • Approximate Percentage of Total Subtest Questions: 18%
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Check this box if the course listed above covers the content described by this skill
Check this box if the course listed above covers the content described by this skill
Check this box if the course listed above covers the content described by this skill
Check this box if the course listed above covers the content described by this skill
This section of the worksheet allows users to map the test competencies and skills to the curriculum by entering up to six courses in the course name fields, and checking the boxes if the content of the course covers the information described by the test skills in the rows below.
Skills Course 1:
 Course 2:
 Course 3:
 Course 4:
 Course 5:
 Course 6:
1. Analyze the dynamic nature of science models, laws, mechanisms, and theories that explain natural phenomena (e.g., durability, tentativeness, replication, reliance on evidence).
2. Identify and apply science and engineering practices through integrated process skills (e.g., observing, classifying, predicting, hypothesizing, designing and carrying out investigations, developing and using models, constructing and communicating explanations).
3. Differentiate between the characteristics of experiments (e.g., multiple trials, control groups, variables) and other types of scientific investigations (e.g., observations, surveys).
4. Identify and analyze attitudes and dispositions underlying scientific thinking (e.g., curiosity, openness to new ideas, appropriate skepticism, cooperation).
5. Identify and select appropriate tools, including digital technologies, and units of measurement for various science tasks.
6. Evaluate and interpret pictorial representations, charts, tables, and graphs of authentic data from scientific investigations to make predictions, construct explanations, and support conclusions.
7. Identify and analyze ways in which science is an interdisciplinary process and interconnected to STEM disciplines (i.e., science, technology, engineering, mathematics).
8. Analyze the interactions of science and technology with society including cultural, ethical, economic, political, and global factors.
Notes on Competency 2:

Competency 3—Knowledge of physical sciences

  • Approximate Percentage of Total Subtest Questions: 20%
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Check this box if the course listed above covers the content described by this skill
Check this box if the course listed above covers the content described by this skill
Check this box if the course listed above covers the content described by this skill
Check this box if the course listed above covers the content described by this skill
This section of the worksheet allows users to map the test competencies and skills to the curriculum by entering up to six courses in the course name fields, and checking the boxes if the content of the course covers the information described by the test skills in the rows below.
Skills Course 1:
 Course 2:
 Course 3:
 Course 4:
 Course 5:
 Course 6:
1. Identify and differentiate among the physical properties of matter (e.g., mass, volume, texture, hardness, freezing point).
2. Identify and differentiate between physical and chemical changes (e.g., tearing, burning, rusting).
3. Compare the properties of matter during phase changes through the addition and/or removal of energy (e.g., boiling, condensation, evaporation).
4. Differentiate between the properties of homogeneous mixtures (i.e., solutions) and heterogeneous mixtures.
5. Identify examples of and relationships among atoms, elements, molecules, and compounds.
6. Identify and compare potential and kinetic energy.
7. Differentiate among forms of energy, transformations of energy, and their real-world applications (e.g., chemical, electrical, mechanical, heat, light, sound).
8. Distinguish among temperature, heat, and forms of heat transfer (e.g., conduction, convection, radiation).
9. Analyze the functionality of an electrical circuit based on its conductors, insulators, and components.
10. Identify and apply the characteristics of contact forces (e.g., push, pull, friction), at-a-distance forces (e.g., magnetic, gravitational, electrostatic), and their effects on matter (e.g., motion, speed).
Notes on Competency 3:

Competency 4—Knowledge of Earth and space

  • Approximate Percentage of Total Subtest Questions: 19%
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Check this box if the course listed above covers the content described by this skill
Check this box if the course listed above covers the content described by this skill
Check this box if the course listed above covers the content described by this skill
This section of the worksheet allows users to map the test competencies and skills to the curriculum by entering up to six courses in the course name fields, and checking the boxes if the content of the course covers the information described by the test skills in the rows below.
Skills Course 1:
 Course 2:
 Course 3:
 Course 4:
 Course 5:
 Course 6:
1. Identify characteristics of geologic formations (e.g., volcanoes, canyons, mountains) and the mechanisms by which they are changed (e.g., physical and chemical weathering, erosion, deposition).
2. Identify and distinguish among major groups and properties of rocks and minerals and the processes of their formations.
3. Identify and analyze the characteristics of soil, its components and profile, and the process of soil formation.
4. Identify and analyze processes by which energy from the Sun is transferred (e.g., radiation, conduction, convection) through Earth's systems (e.g., biosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, atmosphere, cryosphere).
5. Identify and analyze the causes and effects of atmospheric processes and conditions (e.g., water cycle, weather, climate).
6. Identify and analyze various conservation methods and their effectiveness in relation to renewable and nonrenewable natural resources.
7. Analyze the Sun-Earth-Moon system in order to explain repeated patterns such as day and night, phases of the Moon, tides, and seasons.
8. Compare and differentiate the composition and various relationships among the objects of our Solar System (e.g., Sun, planets, moons, asteroids, comets).
9. Identify major events in the history of space exploration and their effects on society.
Notes on Competency 4:

Competency 5—Knowledge of life science

  • Approximate Percentage of Total Subtest Questions: 23%
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Check this box if the course listed above covers the content described by this skill
Check this box if the course listed above covers the content described by this skill
Check this box if the course listed above covers the content described by this skill
Check this box if the course listed above covers the content described by this skill
This section of the worksheet allows users to map the test competencies and skills to the curriculum by entering up to six courses in the course name fields, and checking the boxes if the content of the course covers the information described by the test skills in the rows below.
Skills Course 1:
 Course 2:
 Course 3:
 Course 4:
 Course 5:
 Course 6:
1. Identify and compare the characteristics of living and nonliving things.
2. Analyze the cell theory as it relates to the functional and structural hierarchy of all living things.
3. Identify and compare the structures and functions of plant and animal cells.
4. Classify living things into major groups (i.e., Linnaean system) and compare according to characteristics (e.g., physical features, behaviors, development).
5. Compare and contrast the structures, functions, and interactions of human and other animal organ systems (e.g., respiration, reproduction, digestion).
6. Distinguish among infectious agents (e.g., viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites), their transmission, and their effects on the human body.
7. Identify and analyze the processes of heredity and natural selection and the scientific theory of evolution.
8. Analyze the interdependence of living things with each other and with their environment (e.g., food webs, ecosystems, pollution).
9. Identify and analyze plant structures and the processes of photosynthesis, transpiration, and reproduction (i.e., sexual, asexual).
10. Predict the responses of plants to various stimuli (e.g., heat, light, gravity).
11. Identify and compare the life cycles and predictable ways plants and animals change as they grow, develop, and age.
Notes on Competency 5:

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