(Student name) scored at the Advanced level in Science. Students scoring at this level generally exhibit the ability to

• have a qualitative and quantitative grasp of scientific principles, relating them to one another and to other phenomena, and being aware of their development and limitations;

• formulate scientific questions, compare experimental designs, and devise valid experiments to answer their questions;

• collect the relevant quantitative and qualitative data using appropriate instrumentation;

• provide a scientifically valid interpretation of the data they collect;

• engage in self assessment, discard unnecessary data, and recognize gaps in information;

• locate needed information in primary or secondary sources; and

• communicate their ideas by interpolating, extrapolating, and interpreting patterns of change in graphic and symbolic representations.

With inquiry as the core, students at the Advanced level demonstrate an understanding that unifying concepts and processes can be applied throughout the science disciplines—physical, life, earth/space, and the environmental sciences.

(Student name) scored at the Mastery level in Science. Students scoring at this level generally exhibit the ability to

• grasp scientific principles on both a qualitative and quantitative basis;

• understand that scientific knowledge is tentative and subject to change;

• identify more than one way to solve a given problem and select the method with the most promise;

• manipulate data through various mathematical models;

• integrate several abstract facts in order to understand overarching scientific principles; and

• apply those principles to human activities.

With inquiry as the core, students at the Mastery level will identify unifying concepts and processes among the science disciplines—physical, life, earth/space, and the environment sciences.

(Student name) scored at the Basic level in Science. Students scoring at this level generally exhibit the ability to

• formulate valid hypotheses;

• design a simple experiment;

• draw appropriate conclusions;

• develop inferences from experimentation and apply that information to new situations;

• distinguish scientific principles from pseudoscience; and

• apply scientific principles to their everyday lives.

With inquiry as the core, students at the Basic level begin to identify unifying concepts and processes among the science disciplines—physical, life, earth/space, and the environmental sciences.

(Student name) scored at the Approaching Basic level in Science. Students scoring at this level generally exhibit the ability to

• know and understand fundamental science facts and concepts concerning the world; and

• conduct a simple experiment that includes: making observations; forming a reasonable hypothesis; identifying variables; collecting, displaying, and interpreting data; and drawing conclusions.

These skills should be demonstrated through the science disciplines—physical, life, earth/space, and the environmental sciences.

(Student name) scored at the Unsatisfactory level in Science. Students scoring at this level have not demonstrated the fundamental knowledge and skills needed for the next level of schooling. Students scoring at this level generally have not exhibited the ability to

• know and understand fundamental science facts and concepts concerning the world; and

• conduct a simple experiment that includes: making observations; forming a reasonable hypothesis; identifying variables; collecting, displaying, and interpreting data; and drawing conclusions.

These skills should be demonstrated through the science disciplines—physical, life, earth/space, and the environmental sciences.