GRADE 8 SCIENCE EOG Testing Specifications

Revised February 2017

Here is the link to the .PDF where this information originated.

http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/accountability/testing/technotes/scispcs17.pdf

Table 1: Weight Distributions for Grade 8 Science

UNIFYING CONCEPT GRADE 8 SCIENCE

Matter: Properties and Change 14-16%
Energy: Conservation and Transfer 10-12%
Earth Systems, Structures, and Processes 13-15%
Earth History 11-13%
Structure and Function of Living Organisms 19-23%
Ecosystems 9-11%
Evolution and Genetics 11-13%
Molecular Biology 8-10%
Total 100%
NOTE: Members of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI)/Test Development Section invited North
Carolina educators to collaborate and develop recommendations for a prioritization of the standards indicating the
relative importance of each standard, the anticipated instructional time, and the appropriateness of the standard for
different item formats. Subsequently, curriculum and test development staff from the NCDPI met to review the results
from the teacher panels and to develop weight distributions across the domains for each grade level.

Table 2: Number of Items by Clarifying Objective – Grade 8

Number of
Grade 8 Science
UNIFYING CONCEPT: Grade 8 Science Objective Description Items per
Objective
Objective*
8.P.1.1 Atoms, elements, compounds, mixtures 2
Matter: Properties & 8.P.1.2 Properties of matter and its relationship to the Periodic Table 2-3
Change 8.P.1.3 Physical change vs. Chemical change 2
8.P.1.4 Law of conservation of mass and balanced chemical equations 3
Energy: Conservation 8.P.2.1 Environmental consequences of energy 2-3
and Transfer 8.P.2.2 Implications of depletion of renewable & nonrenewable energy 3-4
Structure of Hydrosphere – Distribution of water – River Basins
8.E.1.1 2-4
Earth Systems, – Properties of water
Structures, and 8.E.1.2 Oceans 2
Processes 8.E.1.3 Water Quality – Physical & Biological factors 1-3
8.E.1.4 Stewardship – Water treatment – water quality standards 0-1
8.E.2.1 Age of Earth – Relative & Absolute Age, Index fossils, Eras 2-3
Earth History Earth’s Changes – fossils, ice cores, faults, igneous rocks in rock
8.E.2.2 4-5
layers
Structures & 8.L.1.1 Disease -- Viruses, Bacteria, Fungi, Parasites 3-4
Functions of Living 8.L.1.2 Disease – epidemic/pandemic 1-2
Organisms 8.L.2.1 Biotechnology 4-6
8.L.3.1 Ecosystems – food, water, shelter, space, population 1
Ecosystems
8.L.3.2 Food web relationships 2-3
 8.L.3.3 Food webs relationship to cycles of matter 3-4
Evolutions and 8.L.4.1 Evolution 4
Genetics 8.L.4.2 Genetic variation & Adaptation 3-4
8.L.5.1 Relationship of food to energy + 2-3
Molecular Biology
8.L.5.2 Relationship of healthy diet & exercise to health + 1-3

+ The Molecular Biology content listed above is taken from the language of the standards. The unpacking document hints
towards different content. As you all know, DPI has not been very clear about which content is intended.