CAP Foundation Assessment Content Blueprints
The CAP Social Studies and Science Assessment content blueprints identify the emphasis assigned to each Ohio content strand
and topic/content statement to be measured by the CAP assessments. To develop the content blueprints, each participating
CAP member district was asked to complete a rating form focusing on each grade and content area to be covered by the tests.
The forms asked the district-level raters to review the local curriculum and identify the emphasis the local curriculum placed
on each strand. Following the strand rating, raters were asked to make additional judgments for each topic/content
statement within the strand. The raters were district content specialists (e.g., curriculum directors, lead teachers, content
coaches) with detailed knowledge of the local curriculum.
The rating forms were returned and the ratings entered for each district. The following tables represent the consensus ratings
assigned by the CAP member districts (i.e., average ratings). The test development process used these data as targets for item
development. Please note, as a rule all percentages were rounded up. Therefore, totals generally exceed 100% (especially at
the topic/content statement level). Final pretest and posttest forms were developed that approximate these percentages.
CAP Social Studies Content Blueprint: Strand-Level by Grade
Grade
Strand
3
4
5
6
7
History
Geography
Government
Economics
CAP Test Blueprints 03/14
26%
27%
25%
22%
36%
23%
24%
18%
26%
33%
17%
24%
21%
33%
17%
29%
52%
18%
16%
14%
8
51%
17%
18%
14%
Page 1
CAP Social Studies Content Blueprints: Topic-Level (Grades 3-4)
Topic*
Grade 3
Historical Thinking and
Skills
13%
Heritage
12%
Spatial Thinking and
Skills
Places and Regions
Human Systems
Civic Participation and
Skills
Rules and Laws
Roles and Systems of
Government
Economic Decision
Making and Skills
Scarcity
Production and
Consumption
Markets
Financial Literacy
10%
10%
9%
8%
8%
8%
4%
5%
4%
Topic*
Historical Thinking and
Skills
Heritage
Spatial Thinking and
Skills
Places and Regions
Human Systems
Civic Participation and
Skills
Rules and Laws
Roles and Systems of
Government
Economic Decision
Making and Skills
Production and
Consumption
Financial Literacy
Grade 4
15%
21%
6%
7%
9%
8%
8%
8%
6%
7%
5%
3%
5%
* Percents in Topic Statements Witnin A Grade May Not Add to 100% Due to Rounding
CAP Test Blueprints 03/14
Page 2
CAP Social Studies Content Blueprints: Topic-Level (Grades 5-8)
CAP Test Blueprints 03/14
Page 3

Totals will exceed 100% due to rounding rule.
CAP Science Content Blueprints: Strand-Level by Grade
Strand
EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE (ESS)
LIFE SCIENCE (LS)
PHYSICAL SCIENCE (PS)
Grade 31 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8
36%
31%
33%
36%
34%
30%
35%
33%
33%
35%
32%
34%
38%
33%
30%
40%
30%
31%
1 - Within grade totals for any grade may exceed 100% due to rounding.

CAP Test Blueprints 03/14
Page 4
CAP Science Content Blueprint: Topic Level (Grades 3-4)
Topic*
Grade 3
Earth's Resources
01: Earth's nonliving resources have
specific properties.
02: Earth's resources can be used for
energy.
03: Some of Earth's resources are
limited.
Behavior, Growth, and Changes
04: Offspring resemble their parents and
each other.
05: Individuals of the same kind differ in
their traits and sometimes the
differences give individuals an
advantage in surviving and reproducing.
06: Plants and animals have life cycle
that are part of their adaptations for
survival in their natural environments.
08: Matter exists in different states,
each of which has different properties.
09: Heat, electrical energy, light, sound,
and magnetic energy are forms of
energy.
CAP Test Blueprints 03/14
Grade 4
Earth's Surface
12%
01: Earth's surface has specific
characteristics and landforms that
can be identified.
02: The surface of Earth changes due
to weathering.
12%
03: The surface of Earth changes due
to erosion and deposition.
12%
9%
11%
Earth’s Living History
04: Changes in an organism's
environment are sometimes
beneficial to its survival and
sometimes harmful.
05: Fossils can be compared to one
another and to present day
organisms according to their
similarities and differences.
11%
12%
14%
17%
17%
Electricity, Heat, and Matter
12%
Matter and Forms of Energy
07: All objects and substances in the
natural world are composed of matter.
Topic*
11%
13%
8%
06: The total amount of matter is
conserved when it undergoes
change.
16%
07: Energy can be transformed from
one form to another or can be
transferred from one location to
another.
14%
CAP Science Content Blueprints: Topic Level (Grades 5-6)
Cycles & Patterns in the Solar System
01: The solar system includes the sun and all celestial
bodies that orbit the sun. Each planet in the solar
system has unique characteristics.
02: The sun is one of many stars that exist in the
universe.
03: Most of the cycles and patterns of motion
between the Earth and sun are predictable.
GRADE 5
01: Minerals have specific, quantifiable
properties.
8%
9%
02: Igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary
rocks have unique characteristics that can be
used for identification and/or classification.
8%
14%
03: Igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary
rocks form in different ways.
8%
04: Soil is unconsolidated material that
contains nutrient matter and weathered rock.
8%
16%
17%
05: Rocks, minerals and soils have common
and practical uses.
E: Cellular to Multicellular
Light, Sound & Motion
06: Cells are the fundamental unit of life.
06: The amount of change in movement of an object is
based on the mass* of the object and the amount of
force exerted.
07: All cells come from pre-existing cells.
17%
07: Light and sound are forms of energy that behave
in predictable ways.
16%
* Totals will exceed 100% due to rounding rule.
6%
7%
8%
08: Cells carry on specific functions that
sustain life.
9%
09: Living systems at all levels of organization
demonstrate the complementary nature of
structure and function.
9%
F: Matter and Motion
10: All matter is made up of small particles
called atoms.
11: Changes of state are explained by a model
of matter composed of atoms and/or
molecules that are in motion.
12: There are two categories of energy: kinetic
and potential.
13: An object's motion can be described by its
speed and the direction in which it is moving.
CAP Test Blueprints 03/14
GRADE 6
13%
Interconnections with Ecosystems
04: Organisms perform a variety of roles in an
ecosystem.
05: All of the processes that take place within
organisms require energy.
D: Rocks, Minerals, & Soil
9%
8%
9%
9%
CAP Science Content Blueprints: Topic Level (Grades 7-8)
G: Cycles & Patterns of the Earth & the Moon
01: The hydrologic cycle illustrates the changing states
of water as it moves through the lithosphere,
biosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere.
02: Thermal-energy transfers in the ocean in the
formation and the atmosphere contributes to the
formation of currents, which influence global climate
patterns.
03: The atmosphere has different properties at
different elevations and contains a mixture of gases
that cycle through the lithosphere, biosphere,
hydrosphere and atmosphere.
04: The relative patterns of motion and positions of
the Earth, moon and sun cause solar and lunar
eclipses, tides and phases of the moon.
GRADE 7
10%
10%
02: Earth's crust consists of major and minor
tectonic plates that move relative to each
other.
11%
10%
03: A combination of constructive and
destructive geologic processes formed Earth's
surface.
10%
11%
H: Cycles of Matter & Flow of Energy
05: Matter is transferred continuously between one
organism to another and between organisms and their
physical environment.
06: In any particular biome, the number, growth and
survival of organisms and populations depend on
biotic and abiotic factors.
09: Energy can be transferred through a variety of
ways.
04: Evidence of the dynamic changes of Earth's
surface through time is found in the geologic
record.
10%
11%
14%
15%
14%
05: Reproduction is necessary for the
continuation of every species.
06: Diversity of species occurs over many
generations. Fossil records provide evidence
that changes have occurred in number and
types of species.
07: The characteristics of an organism are a
result of inherited traits received from
parent(s).
L: Forces & Motion
08: Forces between objects act when the
objects are in direct contact or when they are
not touching.
09: Forces have magnitude and direction.
10: There are different types of potential
energy.
* Totals will exceed 100% due to rounding rule.
CAP Test Blueprints 03/14
10%
10%
K: Species & Reproduction
I: Conservation of Mass & Energy
07: The properties of matter are determined by the
arrangement of atoms.
08: Energy can be transformed or tranferred but is
never lost.
GRADE 8
J: Physical Science
01: The composition and properties of Earth's
interior are identified by the behavior of
seismic waves.
11%
10%
10%
11%
10%
12%