Biology EOC

OSPI

The Biology EOC exam assesses Washington State Science Learning Standards.   Half of the exam's score points will come from Life Science content strand. The other half of the exam's score points will come from the crosscutting concepts of Systems, Inquiry and Application in Life Science context.

Systems thinking makes it possible to analyze and understand complex phenomena. Systems concepts begin with the idea of the part-to-whole relationship in the earliest grades, adding the ideas of systems analysis in the middle school and emergent properties, unanticipated consequences, and feedback loops in high school.

Inquiry is the bedrock of science and refers to the activities of students in which they develop knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas, as well as an understanding of how the natural world works. Students ask and answer questions that facilitate growth in their understanding of the natural world. Inquiry includes the idea that an investigation refers to a variety of methods that can be used to answer a scientifically oriented question, including: systematic observations, field studies, models and simulations, open-ended explorations, and controlled experiments.

Application includes the ability to use the process of technological design to solve real-world problems, to understand the relationship between science and technology and their influence on society, and to become aware of the wide variety of careers in scientific and technical fields. These abilities are needed for people to apply what they learn in school to meet challenges in their own lives, to understand and help solve societal problems involving science and technology, and contribute to the prosperity of their community, state, and nation.

Helpful Resources

• Sample Test ---Half the length of the operational test
• Easy Scoring Guide for Sample Test  --- contains answers, scoring guides for written responses and annotated examples  of scoring guides for written responses and annotated examples of scored responses.
• Lessons Learned from 2011  --- science scorers give advice to students writing responses for Biology EOC
• All resources here were adapted from OSPI - click for Science Assessment and Science Learning Standards. 
• Complete Source Materials Can be Found Here: Science Assessment Updates for 2012: Biology EOC Exam   --- contains descriptions of Biology EOC Exam testing requirements, student sample test, OSPI scoring rubrics for written items and annotated scoring
• Biology EOC Exam Test and Item Specifications  --- this is the guide the state uses to create the test and write items for standards.
• Lessons Learned from Scoring Student Work  --- This is the complete lessons learned document and includes grades 5 and 8 as well as Biology.