Language Arts Standard and Benchmarks
 Writing
  Standard 3: Uses grammatical and mechanical conventions in written compositions
  Level III

9.  Uses conventions of spelling in written compositions
10.  Uses conventions of capitalization in written compositions
12.  Uses appropriate format in written compositions
 

 Reading
  Standard 7: Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of informational texts
  Level III
4.  Uses new information to adjust and extend personal knowledge base
 

Thinking and Reasoning Standard and Benchmarks
  Standard 4: Understands and applies basic principles of hypothesis testing and scientific inquiry
  Level III
1.  Understands that there are a variety of ways people can form hypotheses, including basing them on many observations, basing them on very few observations, and constructing them on only one or two observations
2.  Verifies results of experiments
5.  Reformulates a new hypothesis for study after an old hypothesis has been eliminated

Standard 5: Applies basic trouble-shooting and problem-solving techniques
Level III
1.  Identifies alternative courses of action and predicts likely consequences of each
2.  Selects the most appropriate strategy or alternative for solving a problem
 

Standard 6: Applies decision-making techniques
Level III
2.  Secures factual information needed to evaluate alternatives
4.  Predicts the consequences of selecting each alternative
5.  Makes decisions based on the data obtained and the criteria identified
 
 
 

Working With Others Standard and Benchmarks
  Standard 1: Contributes to the overall effort of a group
  Level IV
    2.  Demonstrates respect for others in the group
    3.  Identifies and uses the strengths of others
    4.  Takes initiative when needed
    7.  Engages in active listening
    9.  Evaluates the overall progress of a group toward a goal

  Standard 4: Displays effective interpersonal communication skills
   Level IV
    4.  Seeks information nondefensively
    5.  Provides feedback in a constructive manner
    9.  Uses emotions appropriately in personal dialogues
    15.  Acknowledges the strengths of others
 

Mathematics Standard and Benchmarks
  Standard 3: Uses basic and advanced procedures while performing the processes of computation
Level III
    1.  Adds, subtracts, multiplies, and divides whole numbers, fractions, decimals, integers, and rational numbers
    3.  Selects and uses appropriate computational methods (e.g., mental, paper and pencil, calculator, computer) for a given situation
    4.  Understands the correct order of operations for performing arithmetic computations
 
 

Standard 6: Understands and applies basic and advanced concepts of statistics and data analysis
 Level III

1.  Understands basic characteristics of measures of central tendency (i.e., mean, mode, median)
4.  Reads and interprets data in charts, tables, plots (e.g., stem-and-leaf, box-and-whiskers, scatter), and graphs (e.g., bar, circle, line)
6.  Organizes and displays data using tables, graphs (e.g., line, circle, bar), frequency distributions, and plots (e.g., stem-and-leaf, box-and-whiskers, scatter)
 

Science Standard and Benchmarks
 Physical Sciences
  Standard 10: Understands forces and motion
  Level III

1.  Understands general concepts related to gravitational force (e.g., every object exerts gravitational force on every other object; this force depends on the mass of the objects and their distance from one another; gravitational force is hard to detect unless at least one of the objects, such as the Earth, has a lot of mass)
5.  Knows that an object that is not being subjected to a force will continue to move at a constant speed and in a straight line
 

Nature of Science
  Standard 11: Understands the nature of scientific knowledge
  Level III

1.  Knows that an experiment must be repeated many times and yield consistent results before the results are accepted as correct
3.  Knows that all scientific ideas are tentative and subject to change and improvement in principle, but for most core ideas in science, there is much experimental and observational confirmation
 

Standard 12: Understands the nature of scientific inquiry
Level III

2.  Understands that questioning, response to criticism, and open communication are integral to the process of science (e.g., scientists often differ with one another about the interpretation of evidence or theory in areas where there is not a great deal of understanding; scientists acknowledge conflicting interpretations and work towards finding evidence that will resolve the disagreement)
3.  Designs and conducts a scientific investigation (e.g., formulates hypotheses, designs and executes investigations, interprets data, synthesizes evidence into explanations, proposes alternative explanations for observations, critiques explanations and procedures)
5.  Uses appropriate tools (including computer hardware and software) and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret scientific data