The teaching curriculum for each of the four general knowledge domains — English Language Arts, History & Social Science, Science & Technology/Engineering, and Mathematics — is subdivided into knowledge categories known as "strands."

For example, in mathematics there are four strands:

Number Sense & Operations;

Patterns, Relations & Algebra;

Geometry & Measurement; and

Data Analysis, Statistics & Probability.

Strands in the Massachusetts public school curriculum remain consistent across grade levels. Only the complexity of the material changes.

Each MCAS test is designed to assess student competence not only for the overall knowledge domain, but also for each strand comprising the domain. In this way, areas of knowledge strength and weakness within the domain are identified to help the student achieve mastery over the entire subject area.