Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System

Science and Technology/Engineering (STE) Test Design and Development

Curriculum Framework

Instructional Guidelines

The intention of these documents is to help provide additional guidance around the instruction and assessment of the Science and Technology/Engineering (STE) standards in the 2016 Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework. This guidance is aligned with the assessment expectations of the STE MCAS tests. The selected standards represent a sample of the standards in the curriculum framework and should not be used as a complete curriculum guide. The standards in these documents were selected based on frequently asked questions from the field and should not be considered as more important than other standards. The information provided in these documents is not an exhaustive list of what will be assessed on the MCAS tests. These documents may be updated as necessary; please refer to the revision dates on the bottom of each document.

The instructional guidelines are also located on the Center for Instructional Support's Science and Technology/Engineering webpage.

Last Updated: March 19, 2025