Content and Cognitive Domains (Grade 4)

Forty-five percent of the fourth-grade science assessment was devoted to life science topics, including characteristics and life processes of organisms; life cycles, reproduction, and heredity; organisms, environment, and their interactions; ecosystems; and human health. Students at the fourth grade were expected to have some knowledge about general characteristics of organisms, how they function, and how they interact with other organisms and with their environment, as well as to be familiar with fundamental science concepts related to life cycles, heredity, and human health.

The topic areas for the physical science content domain made up 35 percent of the assessment, including classification and properties of matter and changes in matter; forms of energy and energy transfer; and forces and motion. Students were asked about physical states of matter (solid, liquid, and gas); common changes in the state and form of matter; common forms and sources of energy and their practical uses; and basic concepts about light, sound, electricity, and magnetism, as well as forces and motion.

The earth science domain (20% of the assessment) included three topic areas: Earth’s physical characteristics, resources, and history; Earth’s weather and climates; and Earth in the Solar System. Students were asked about the structure and physical characteristics of Earth’s surface and about the use of Earth’s most important resources, and were asked to describe some of Earth’s processes in terms of observable changes and recognize the time frame over which such changes have occurred. They also were asked about Earth’s place in the Solar System based on observations of patterns of change on Earth and in the sky.

Fourth-grade students also needed to draw on a range of cognitive skills across the content domains described above. The cognitive skills were categorized into three broad domains—knowing, applying, and reasoning. Forty percent of the fourth-grade assessment was devoted to the knowing domain, 40 percent to applying, and 20 percent to reasoning. The knowing domain covers recognizing, describing, and providing examples of facts, concepts, and procedures students were expected to know at fourth grade. The applying domain focuses on students’ ability to apply knowledge and conceptual understanding through comparing, explaining, relating, and interpreting models and information to solve practical problems or answer questions. The reasoning domain goes beyond the solution of familiar problems to encompass unfamiliar situations, complex contexts, and multistep problems. Additionally, five science practices fundamental to scientific inquiry were assessed within the content areas and cognitive domains.