The Connecticut State Board of Education approved the Connecticut Science Framework in October of 2004. This framework is designed to move science education forward and ensure that all of our students achieve scientific literacy, regardless of their postsecondary plans. The CAPT Generation III assessment, which was implemented in March 2007, will be directly aligned with this framework. Changes are outlined below.

The CAPT Generation III science assessment will no longer include a performance task that immediately precedes the testing window. Instead, suggested curriculum-embedded tasks are being provided to address each of the five new content strands for grades 9 and 10. The five suggested tasks include a laboratory activity and a Science, Technology and Society (STS) investigation. These curriculum-embedded tasks are suggested formative assessments for use within the classroom during the course of the normal instructional day and within the appropriate instructional context. If a teacher has a preferred laboratory exercise in the same content area, he or she is free to use that exercise. The curriculum-embedded tasks are offered in a Microsoft Word format that allows for easy modification by the classroom teacher to meet the needs of his or her students. They are suggested models for instruction and not mandated exercises.

The Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) Generation III will include both multiple choice and constructed response questions. The five constructed response questions will assess scientific inquiry and communication skills in the same context as the tasks. 

• Teacher Materials
• Student Materials

Science, Technology and Society Activity

• Teacher Material
• Student Material

Laboratory Investigations

• Teacher Materials
• Student Materials

Science, Technology and Society Activity

• Teacher Material
• Student Material