In New York State (NYS), Earth science teachers use the "National Science Education Standards" (NSES), the NYS "Learning Standards for Mathematics, Science and Technology" (NYS Standards), and the "Physical Setting/Earth Science Core Curriculum" (Core Curriculum) to create local curricula and daily lessons. In this study, a purposeful sample of experienced and innovative teachers provided insight on how NYS Earth science teachers organize their scope and sequences, align their lessons with the State standards-based documents, establish internal lesson coherence, and prepare their students for the state assessment, the Physical Setting/Earth Science Regents Examination (Regents Exam). Teachers provided responses to a questionnaire regarding their scope and sequence and typical lessons they teach for each unit. These data were then reviewed by the first author as well as by a team of Earth science education experts. Teachers' scope and sequences were well aligned with the Core Curriculum and Regents, but misalignment was found between their lessons and the Core Curriculum as well as between the stated objectives for their students and evaluation of those objectives. The insights gained from this analysis of the NYS system could be helpful to other states as they move toward increased standards-based Earth science curricula. Among other suggestions, it is recommended that the Core Curriculum be revised to emphasize alignment principles and more opportunity be provided for teacher professional development focused on alignment issues relative to the state standards and enhanced internal lesson coherence.