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 |
Classification In the Classification task students will sort a set of sixteen dinosaur cards into two groups, then into three groups, and finally into four groups. For each sorting, students will identify what is special about each group they have made. Students will complete this task working one on one with a teacher-administrator. Resources required for this task are sixteen cards featuring different dinosaurs. This task is a part of the Living World task series from 1995. This task is classified as a trend task by NEMP. Trend tasks are used to examine trends in student performance: whether they have improved, stayed constant or declined over the four-year period since the previous assessments. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Classification of Materials This task focuses on Understanding the Scientific Inquiry. Students must use a two-way classification system to organize people and objects. This task includes: |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Classifications of Animals In this task, students will create a binary classifications system to sort plastic animals. This task includes: |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Cleaning Up The Cleaning Up task allows students to investigate and explain the reaction between water, oil, and detergent through an experiment. During this experiment students will answer four questions. Students will complete this task working one on one with a teacher-administrator. Resources required for this task include water in a jug, two jars, a bottle of cooking oil (liquid 1), a bottle of detergent (liquid 2), three ice block sticks, and two 50ml beakers. This task is a part of the Material World task series from 2007. This task is classified as a trend task by NEMP. Trend tasks are used to examine trends in student performance: whether they have improved, stayed constant or declined over the four-year period since the previous assessments. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Compost The Compost task allows students to identify biodegradable rubbish. Students will be learn about what compost is and will be presented with pictures of several rubbish items. Then they will be asked to determine which items can and can't go in the compost and explain why. Students will complete this task working in stations. Resources required for this task include fourteen small pictures, one large picture, and a sheet of stickers. This task is a part of the Planet Earth and Beyond task series from 2007. This task is classified as a trend task by NEMP. Trend tasks are used to examine trends in student performance: whether they have improved, stayed constant or declined over the four-year period since the previous assessments. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Connecting Math to Our Lives In the Connecting Math to Our Lives task, students will explore how math is used in their communities and take action to promote greater equity in the world around them. This task includes several possible projects and classroom activities. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Cooking Up a Mystery In Cooking Up a Mystery students will use evidence from the lab and the Internet to identify a criminal suspect in a cooking contest and make safety improvements. This task includes:
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Creeping This task (in PALM and in PALS) focuses on the Structure of the Earth Systems. Students must understand a model depicting "soil creep" in order to measure and graph their calculations. This task includes: |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Critter Museum In this task, students will act as museum directors and sort, classify, and provide information of the animals to be displayed. This task includes: |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Crustal Sinking This task (in PALM and in PALS) focuses on the knowledge of the Stucture of the Eath System. Students must examine the relationship between Earth's Crust and the mantle by conducting an experiment in which they measure the rate at which a test tube sinks into "goo". This task includes: |
If you would like to recommend additional open-sourced performance task banks to be included in the database, or if you would like to report a broken link, please email Pai-rou Chen.
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