Life Science (Grades 9–12) Subtest 1
Subarea I.1. Life Science Research and Applications
0001
Understand the principles and processes of scientific inquiry in life science.
- demonstrating knowledge of the principles and procedures for designing and carrying out life science investigations
- recognizing and evaluating methods and criteria for collecting, organizing, analyzing, and presenting scientific data
- recognizing and evaluating sources of scientific information (e.g., professional journals, websites), their characteristics, and their use
- demonstrating familiarity with tools, equipment, and materials commonly used in life science investigations
- demonstrating knowledge of practices for ensuring a safe environment in classroom, laboratory, and field settings
- applying knowledge of ethics and safety guidelines to the acquisition, care, handling, and disposal of living organisms and to the collection of scientific specimens and data
0002
Understand applications of mathematics and computers in life science.
- applying mathematical concepts and representations (e.g., algebra, equations, graphs) to model and solve quantitative problems in life science and to communicate solutions in a logical and organized manner
- using statistics (e.g., mean, standard deviation, chi-square, linear regression, correlation) to describe and analyze experimental and theoretical data
- demonstrating knowledge of applications of computers in life science (e.g., designing models, selecting appropriate software and hardware)
0003
Understand the content and methods for developing students' content-area reading skills to support their reading and learning in life science.
- demonstrating knowledge of key components and processes involved in reading (e.g., vocabulary knowledge, including orthographic and morphological knowledge; background knowledge; knowledge of academic discourse, including the syntactic and organizational structures used in print and digital academic texts; print processing abilities, including decoding skills; use of cognitive and metacognitive skills and strategies)
- demonstrating ability to plan instruction and select strategies that support all students' content-area reading (e.g., differentiating instruction to meet the needs of students with varying reading proficiency levels and linguistic backgrounds, identifying and addressing gaps in students' background knowledge, scaffolding reading tasks for students who experience comprehension difficulties)
- demonstrating knowledge of explicit strategies for facilitating students' comprehension before, during, and after reading content-area texts and for promoting students' use of comprehension strategies
- demonstrating knowledge of explicit strategies for promoting students' academic language and vocabulary development, including their knowledge of domain-specific vocabulary words
- demonstrating knowledge of explicit strategies for developing students' critical literacy skills (e.g., encouraging students to question texts, developing students' ability to analyze texts from multiple viewpoints or perspectives)
- demonstrating ability to plan instruction and select strategies that support students' reading and understanding of life science texts (e.g., helping students to relate what is read to relevant prior knowledge, to follow laboratory activity instructions, and to interpret diagrams and graphs in terms of scientific content or meaning)
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