Please note that many tasks were constructed prior to Common Core and the task alignments to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were not identified in the task materials. To search for the performance tasks explicitly aligned to the CCSS, Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), or College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards, please go to CCSS, NGSS, and C3 tabs.
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Middle Protocol Test - Soil Moisture This task is from PALS and was previously part of the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE)'s Soils Unit. Students will determine the moisture in a soil sample after collection. This task includes: |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Plague Doctor This task asks that students source a painting of clothing worn by doctors in the 17th century in order to determine its usefulness in answering the question of what doctors wore when treating patients with the Plague. Students with a sophisticated understanding of how to source a document will be able to explain that the painting is useful in that it is based on information from a person who witnessed the plague in the 17th century. They will also observe, however, that the image might be limited as evidence of what doctors wore, because it is an artist’s interpretation rendered over two centuries after the account was recorded. Resources include PDF downloads of the assessment with source materials, and a rubric with benchmark descriptors. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
The Conservation Movement This task assesses students' ability to contextualize two historical documents and place them in the correct chronological order. This assessment draws on students' knowledge about American environmental movements. Document A is from an interview with Barry Commoner in Scientific American in 1997. Document B is part of an 1894 bill introduced to the House of Representatives. More than just the recall of facts and dates, students must show that they have a broad understanding of how the focus of the environmental movement changed over time and demonstrate the ability to use their knowledge about these changes to place the two documents in context. In this assessment, students who correctly contextualize the documents will see that Document B, which is a bill that proposed the establishment of Yellowstone as the first National Park, was a product of the Progressive Era push to conserve land in the West, and therefore likely written before Document A, which reflects more contemporary concerns about the effects of modern technology on the environment and human health. Resources include PDF downloads of the assessment (with primaary source materials), and a rubric with benchmark descriptors. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
110 Years On This task uses mathematical reasoning to estimate the number of descendants a girl who lived 110 years ago might have today. This task includes: |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
1877 Railroad Strike This task assesses students’ ability to to source and corroborate a document. Drawing on knowledge gained from sourcing an excerpt from an 1877 newspaper article about railroad strikes in Columbus, Ohio, students then evaluate it in several ways; Question 1 asks students to evaluate whether the excerpt provides enough evidence to draw conclusions about the broader railroad strike as a whole. To answer this question, students must source the document to determine whether the account can be regarded as conclusive evidence. Question 2 asks students to identify and evaluate whether additional documents or perspectives could be used to corroborate the account. Resources include PDF downloads of the assessment with source materials, and a rubric with benchmark descriptors. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
1995 TIMSS Grade 8 Mathematics Set The 1995 TIMSS Grade 8 Mathematics Set covers the content domains of measurement, estimation, and number sense, geometry, fractions and proportionality, whole numbers, patterns, relations, and functions, and data representation, analysis, and probability, and the cognitive domain of knowing, using complex procedures, performing routine procedures, and solving problems. This task includes:
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Source Subject Grade Level |
1999 TIMSS Grade 8 Mathematics Set The 1999 TIMSS Grade 8 Mathematics Set covers the content domains of algebra, measurement, geometry, fractions and number sense, and data representation, analysis, and probability, and the cognitive domain of knowing, using routine procedures, investigating and problem solving, mathematical reasoning, and communicating. This task includes:
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Source Subject Grade Level |
2003 TIMSS Grade 8 Mathematics Set The 2003 TIMSS Grade 8 Mathematics Set covers the content domains of patterns and relationships, geometry, data, measurement, and number, and cognitive domains of knowing facts and procedures, using concepts, solving routine problems, and reasoning. This task includes:
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Source Subject Grade Level |
2003 TIMSS Grade 8 Science Set The 2003 TIMSS Grade 8 Science Set covers the content domains of life science, chemistry, physics, environmental science, and Earth science, and the cognitive domains of factual knowledge, conceptual understanding, and reasoning and analysis. This task includes:
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2011 TIMSS Grade 8 Mathematics Set The 2011 TIMSS Grade 8 Mathematics Set covers the domains of numbers, algebra, geometry, and data and chance. This task includes:
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