SCIENCE: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

SCIENCE:ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCEEND-OF-COURSE EXAM GRADE 9–12 YEAR 18–19ASSESSMEN T BLUEPRINT

Purpose StatementEnvironmental ScienceThe Environmental Science End-of-Course (EOC) exam is intended to measure student proficiency of the New MexicoScience Standards. This course-level exam is provided to all students who have completed Environmental Science or relatedcourses. This exam can be given for the following STARS course codes:1751 – Environmental Science1752 – AP Environmental ScienceIntended as a final exam for the course, this is a summative assessment covering a range of content, skills, andapplications. Scores are reported to the teacher, school, district, and state levels for the purposes of student grades,curriculum review, and NMTeach summative reports.“The EOCs are exams written by New Mexico Teachers for New Mexico Students.”During the 2018 summer, teachers were brought together in person or online as part of the blueprint and exam revisionprocess. The NM PED extends our gratitude to all those who contributed to this improvement process. Although we wereunable to implement every suggestion due to conflicting viewpoints at times, this blueprint reflects the best collaborativeeffort among dedicated peers.The NM PED would like to especially recognize the following people who led the revision of this blueprint: Geizi Llanes-Dejka, Farmington Municipal Schools, Blueprint LeadAnastacia Cadena, Alamogordo Public SchoolsDana Cantrell, Alamogordo Public SchoolsIrina Cislaru, Santa Fe Public SchoolsJoy Rosario, Central Consolidated SchoolsLarie Laudato, Gallup-McKinley County SchoolsEmily Clauss, Albuquerque Public SchoolsNM PED Environmental Science EOC Blueprint1

Explanation of Blueprint Layout & Test Specifications TableTopicsThe performance expectations (PEs) identified inthis portion of the blueprint are aligned to theNew Mexico STEM-Ready! Science Standards.The PEs have been deconstructed to highlightthe three dimensionality. Consult your NM STEMReady! Science Standards for the full ndards/and High School Recommended DisciplineSpecific Course Map:Clarifications on Test Item Specifications: This portion of the blueprint identifies the DCI students will have todemonstrate knowledge of during the exam. These items are not fullyaligned to the science and engineering practices (SEPs) and thecrosscutting concepts (CCC). Although the PE measures other dimensions, the item specificationsmay place constraints on portions of the DCI in order to provide moretransparency as to what specifically will be measured relative to the PE. Items on this year’s NM STEM Ready! transition EOC are contentaligned and are items from the existing EOC and/or SBA itembanks. PED will be field testing NM STEM Ready! cluster items forEOCs, which are optional for school /Item Types:The item types for this EOC exam are limited to:MC multiple choice with or without stimulus (e.g., picture, graph, chart)Sample Question:New Mexico Teachers identified the PEs to bemeasured on the EOC exam using the followingcriteria: 1) a great deal of instructional time isspent on the PE as identified in the curriculumand/or; 2) the PE is important to subsequentlearning.A sample question has been provided for some PEs to assist teachers tocorrelate the questions with the performance standards and the testitem specification, when applicable. Sample questions could not beprovided for all PEs due to the limitations in the existing EOC and SBAitem bank. An * denotes the correct answer DOK Depth of Knowledge Some sample questions may be items released items from prior EOCexamsIt is important to note that the PEs in theblueprint are only a subset of PEs to bemeasured with the understanding that teacherscover more PEs during the course of instructionthan what has been selected to be measured.NM PED Environmental Science EOC Blueprint2

Blueprint Table – Environmental ScienceTopic: PhotosynthesisHS-LS1-5SEP: Use a model to illustrate howDCI: photosynthesis transforms lightenergy into stored chemical energy.DCI with Test Item Specifications:LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in OrganismsThe process of photosynthesis converts light energy to stored chemical energy by convertingcarbon dioxide plus water into sugars plus released oxygen.Essential Questions:How do organisms obtain and use the matter and energy they need to live and grow?CCC: to illustrate howClarification Statement: Emphasis is onillustrating inputs and outputs of matterand the transfer and transformation ofenergy in photosynthesis by plants andother photosynthesizing organisms.Examples of models could includediagrams, chemical equations, andconceptual models.Assessment Boundary: Does not includespecific biochemical steps.NM PED Environmental Science EOC BlueprintItem Types:MC multiple choice with or without stimulusSample Question:Which of the following represents the movement of energy from one organism to another?a.b.c.d.BiomassFood Chain. *Water CycleCarbon Cycle3

Topic: PhotosynthesisHS-LS2-5DCI with Test Item Specifications:SEP: Develop a model to illustrate therole ofLS2.B: Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in EcosystemsPhotosynthesis and cellular respiration are important components of the carbon cycle, in whichcarbon is exchanged among the biosphere, atmosphere, oceans, and geosphere throughchemical, physical and geological, and biological processes.DCI: photosynthesis and cellular respirationin the cycling of carbon among thebiosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, andgeosphere.PS3.D: Energy in Chemical ProcessesThe main way that solar energy is captured and stored on Earth is through the complextechnical process known as photosynthesis. (secondary)CCC: to illustrate the role among thebiosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere,and geosphere.Essential Questions:How do matter and energy move through an ecosystem?How do food and fuel provide energy?If energy is conserved, why do people say it is produced or used?Clarification Statement: Examples of modelscould include simulations and mathematicalmodels.Assessment Boundary: Does not include thespecific chemical steps of photosynthesisand respiration.Item Types:MC multiple choice with or without stimulusSample Question:Which process is the most significant cause of increased carbon dioxide concentration in ouratmosphere?a.b.c.d.NM PED Environmental Science EOC BlueprintDecaying of PlantsBurning of Fossil Fuels *Cutting down trees in forestsBurning Wood in Fireplaces4

Topic: Recycling and RegenerationHS-ESS2-1SEP: Develop a model to illustrate howDCI: Earth’s internal and surface processesoperate at different spatial and temporalscales to form continental and ocean-floorfeatures.CCC: temporal scalesClarification Statement: Emphasis is on howthe appearance of land features (such asmountains, valleys, and plateaus) and seafloor features (such as trenches, ridges, andseamounts) are a result of both constructiveforces (such as volcanism, tectonic uplift, andorogeny) and destructive mechanisms (suchas weathering, mass wasting, and coastalerosion)Assessment Boundary: Does not includememorization of the details of the formationof specific geographic features of Earth’ssurface.NM PED Environmental Science EOC BlueprintDCI with Test Item Specifications:ESS2.A: Earth Materials and SystemsEarth’s systems, being dynamic and interacting, cause feedback effects that can increase ordecrease the original changes.ESS2.B: Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System InteractionsPlate tectonics is the unifying theory that explains the past and current movements of the rocksat Earth’s surface and provides a framework for understanding its geologic history. Platemovements are responsible for most continental and ocean-floor features and for thedistribution of most rocks and minerals within Earth’s crust. (ESS2.B Grade 8 GBE)Essential Questions:How do Earth’s major systems interact?Why do the continents move, and what causes earthquakes and volcanoes?Item Types:MC multiple choice with or without stimulusSample Question:Direction: Use the diagram provided to answer the question:Which layer contains the most nutrients and water?a. Subsoil layerb. Topsoil layer *c. Surface litter layerd. Parent material layer5

Topic: Recycling and RegenerationHS-ESS2-3SEP: Develop a model based onevidence of to describeDCI: Earth’s interior the cycling ofmatter by thermal convection.DCI with Test Item Specifications:ESS2.A: Earth Materials and Systems:Evidence from deep probes and seismic waves, reconstructions of historical changes in Earth’ssurface and its magnetic field, and an understanding of physical and chemical processes lead to amodel of Earth with a hot but solid inner core, a liquid outer core, a solid mantel and crust. Motionsof the mantle and its place occur primarily through thermal convection, which involves the cyclingof matter due to the outward flow of energy from Earth’s interior and gravitational movement ofdenser materials toward the interior.CCC: based on evidence of the cyclingmatterESS2.B: Plate Tectonics and Large – Scale System InteractionsThe radioactive decay of unstable isotopes continually generates new energy within Earth’s crustand mantle, providing the primary source of the heat that drives mantle convection. Plate tectonicsClarification Statement: Emphasis is oncan be viewed as the surface expression of mantle convection.both a one-dimensional model of Earth,with radial layers determined by density,PS4.A: Wave Propertiesand a three-dimensional model, which isGeologists use seismic waves and their reflection at interfaces between layers to probe structurescontrolled by mantle convection and thedeep in the planet. (secondary to HS-ESS2-3)resulting plate tectonics. Examples ofevidence include maps of Earth’s threeEssential Questions:dimensional structure obtained fromHow do Earth’s major systems interact?seismic waves, records of the rate of changeWhy do the continents move, and what causes earthquakes and volcanoes?of Earth’s magnetic field (as constraints onWhat are the characteristic properties and behaviors of waves?convection in the outer core), andidentification of the composition of Earth’slayers from high-pressure laboratory Item Types:MC multiple choice with or without stimulusexperimentsSample Question:Assessment Boundary: NoneOld Earth’s crusts get recycled at areas known as:a.b.c.d.NM PED Environmental Science EOC BlueprintSubmarine zonesSustainable zonesSubduction zones *Transform zones6

Topic: Recycling and RegenerationHS-ESS2-6SEP: Develop a quantitative model todescribeDCI: the cycling of carbon among thehydrosphere atmosphere, geosphere,and biosphere.CCC: the cycling of carbonClarification Statement: Emphasis is onmodeling biogeochemical cycles thatinclude the cycling of carbon throughthe ocean, atmosphere, soil, andbiosphere(includinghumans),providing the foundation for livingorganisms.DCI with Test Item Specifications:ESS2.D: Weather and ClimateGradual atmospheric changes were due to plants and other organisms that captured carbon dioxideand released oxygen.Changes in the atmosphere due to human activity have increased carbon dioxide concentrations andthus affect climateEssential Questions:What regulates weather and climate?Item Types:MC multiple choice with or without stimulusSample QuestionRefer to the Carbon Cycle diagram below:What will be themost immediateeffect if many treesare cleared bydeforestation?Assessment Boundary: Nonea. Decreasedcombustion of fossilfuelsb. Increasedproduction oforganic compoundsc. Decreased use ofatmospheric carbondioxide *d. Increased ratesof decompositionImage from Physical Geography.netNM PED Environmental Science EOC Blueprint7