School Improvement in Maryland

Public Release Item: Public Release items have appeared on HSA forms and then are released for public viewing and use. Releasing items is one step to ensuring that schools, districts, and other stakeholders understand how the core learning goals are assessed on the HSA.

Goal 1 Skills And Processes

Expectation 1.2 The student will pose scientific questions and suggest investigative approaches to provide answers to questions.

Indicator 1.2.1 The student will identify meaningful, answerable scientific questions.

Selected Response Item - Released in 2003

Use the technical passage below to answer the following.

Scientists Explore An Aspect of Fish Migration

According to the passage, what question is being asked by Lund University researchers?

  1. What are the migrating habits of salmon in Alaska and Sweden?
  2. Are increasing levels of air pollution affecting salmon migration?
  3. What are the diets of the arctic grayling and the migrating salmon found in the two Alaskan lakes?
  4. Are migrating salmon responsible for transporting toxins from the sea to freshwater lakes?
/share/clg/xml/public_release/science/2003_121_bio08.xml

Correct Answer:
D

Selected Response Item - Released in 2009

Use the information below to answer the following item.

Scientists have observed that when a largemouth bass tries to eat a whirligig beetle, the fish is likely to get more than just a meal. Once inside the mouth of a bass, the beetle releases a foul-tasting substance into the fish’s mouth. The fish responds to this by swishing the beetle around in its mouth, spitting the beetle out into the water, and scooping the beetle back into its mouth. The bass is exhibiting a “flushing” behavior. Unlike other insects, whirligig beetles do not release all of their foul-tasting substance the first time they are pulled into a predator’s mouth. Each time the bass scoops the beetle back into its mouth, more of the substance is released. The bass must exhibit “flushing” again and again. If the bass tires of “flushing” before the beetle runs out of its foul-tasting substance, the beetle can avoid becoming the bass’s next meal.

Which research question about the largemouth bass and whirligig beetle would best match the scientists’ observations?

  1. How long do fish spend rinsing their food?
  2. What is the favorite food of a largemouth bass?
  3. Which insects produce the most foul-tasting substances?
  4. Does the slow release of a foul-tasting substance increase survival?
/share/clg/xml/public_release/science/2009_121_bio66.xml

Correct Answer:
D