Science Assessment ~ Topics ~ Common Ancestry ~ Item CA014003 ~ Student Performance

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The table below shows the presence or absence of traits in seven different species.

Character	Frog	Bird	Crocodile	Whale	Pig	Gorilla
Blowhole				Yes
Body hair				Yes	Yes	Yes
Amniotic egg		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Forelimbs	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Backbone	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Holes in Skull		Yes	Yes

Based only on the traits presented in the table, which organism is probably most distantly related to gorillas?

Bird
Frog
Pig
Whale

Pre-Test

Distribution of responses (prior to studying evolution in high school)
Answer Choice		Overall	Grades		Gender		Primary Language
		n = 559	6–8 n = 23	9–12 n = 499	Male n = 221	Female n = 300	English n = 516	Other n = 13
A.	Bird	3%	0%	3%	4%	2%	3%	8%
B.	Frog	43%	43%	43%	39%	45%	43%	46%
C.	Pig	49%	43%	49%	48%	49%	49%	38%
D.	Whale	5%	13%	5%	9%	3%	5%	8%

Post-Test (Control)

Distribution of responses (following typical high school instruction on evolution)
Answer Choice		Overall	Grades		Gender		Primary Language
		n = 281	6–8 n = 18	9–12 n = 229	Male n = 109	Female n = 135	English n = 243	Other n = 9
A.	Bird	1%	0%	2%	1%	2%	2%	0%
B.	Frog	55%	33%	57%	59%	53%	54%	78%
C.	Pig	41%	61%	40%	39%	43%	42%	11%
D.	Whale	3%	6%	2%	1%	2%	2%	11%

Post-Test (Treatment)

Distribution of responses (following completion of an evolution curriculum module)
Answer Choice		Overall	Grades		Gender		Primary Language
		n = 305	6–8 n = 3	9–12 n = 280	Male n = 139	Female n = 150	English n = 276	Other n = 8
A.	Bird	2%	0%	2%	2%	2%	2%	0%
B.	Frog	54%	33%	53%	53%	53%	53%	50%
C.	Pig	41%	33%	43%	42%	43%	43%	25%
D.	Whale	2%	33%	2%	2%	2%	2%	25%