Widespread adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) has created a need to carefully consider how chemistry curricula should support students in understanding the world in terms of atomic/molecular behavior. We argue that Standards-aligned coursework should be "core-ideas centered" due to evidence that curricula embedded in scaffolded progressions of core ideas can help students develop, organize, and use their knowledge to make molecular-level sense of phenomena. Our team of teachers and researchers has previously proposed a model for developing an integrated, core idea focused introductory chemistry curriculum by adapting the conceptual progressions underpinning the evidence-based undergraduate chemistry course Chemistry, Life, the Universe, and Everything (or CLUE). Here, we examine the efficacy this NGSS-aligned chemistry course (called High School CLUE or HS-CLUE) in helping students connect atomic/molecular structure to observable properties. This study made use of a cross-sectional approach to compare the responses of three student cohorts, each instructed according to a different curriculum, on a three-part structure--properties assessment. There is a positive association between enrollment in HS-CLUE and (1) viewing Lewis structures as models, (2) representing hydrogen bonds as "between" molecules, and (3) constructing scientifically accurate, molecular-level explanations for the difference in boiling point between two substances. These associations were primary drivers for the significant relationship between learning environment enrollment and student responses in the majority of instances examined. Our findings provide preliminary evidence that structuring high school chemistry instruction around validated progressions of core ideas supports students in relating atomic/molecular structure to properties.