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 1.2.8 The student will defend the need for verifiable data.

Brief Constructed Response (BCR) Item - Released in 2008

A pharmaceutical company is selling a new allergy medicine. The company claims their medicine is the fastest-acting and longest-lasting. They also claim that it has the fewest side effects. The company’s claims are based on a study conducted with 10 patients chosen at random.

Should consumers believe the claims made by this company? In your response, be sure to

  • evaluate the study conducted by the pharmaceutical company
  • describe any changes you would make to the study that could strengthen the company’s claims
  • describe methods to produce more reliable data, and explain how these could strengthen the company’s claims

Write your answer in your Answer Book.

/share/clg/xml/public_release/science/2008_128_bio09.xml

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