This study examined state and national benchmarks and standards for K-12 science instruction, curricular goals, and objectives for K-12 science, state, and national assessments that measure student achievement in science and student use of computers and technology for science in grades K-12. The study used survey data and student achievement scores from the 1996 and 2000 National Assessment of Educational Progress science assessments for a national sample and the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Standardized mean difference in achievement of students who used computers and those who did not suggested that, with the exception of students at grade 12, students who used computers more often for science had significantly lower science achievement scores than students who used computers less often. Curriculum mapping revealed that computer use for science was not an integral part of many formal science curriculum standards, resulting in discontinuity between the standards and the taught and tested curriculum. Another significant finding was that the percentage of teachers who reported that their students had access to a computer for science at school had increased from 1996 to 2000, with nearly 90% of grade 8 science classrooms in the year 2000 having access to at least one computer, although fewer than 25% had access to two or more computers. Five appendixes contain supplemental materials, including information on state standards. (Contains 11 tables and 19 references.) (SLD)