Science Assessment ~ Topics ~ Common Ancestry ~ Item CA015003 ~ 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 most closely related to whales?

Pigs
Birds
Gorillas
Not enough information is provided

Pre-Test

Distribution of responses (prior to studying evolution in high school)
Answer Choice		Overall	Grades		Gender		Primary Language
		n = 558	6–8 n = 25	9–12 n = 498	Male n = 243	Female n = 274	English n = 502	Other n = 19
A.	Pigs	34%	28%	35%	33%	36%	36%	11%
B.	Birds	2%	4%	2%	1%	3%	2%	0%
C.	Gorillas	12%	12%	12%	12%	12%	12%	16%
D.	Not enough information is provided	52%	56%	52%	55%	50%	51%	74%

Post-Test (Control)

Distribution of responses (following typical high school instruction on evolution)
Answer Choice		Overall	Grades		Gender		Primary Language
		n = 294	6–8 n = 23	9–12 n = 247	Male n = 109	Female n = 171	English n = 264	Other n = 9
A.	Pigs	37%	30%	38%	33%	41%	38%	33%
B.	Birds	2%	0%	2%	3%	2%	2%	0%
C.	Gorillas	7%	4%	7%	8%	6%	6%	33%
D.	Not enough information is provided	53%	65%	52%	56%	51%	54%	33%

Post-Test (Treatment)

Distribution of responses (following completion of an evolution curriculum module)
Answer Choice		Overall	Grades		Gender		Primary Language
		n = 281	6–8 n = 3	9–12 n = 257	Male n = 132	Female n = 140	English n = 254	Other n = 11
A.	Pigs	46%	67%	46%	42%	51%	46%	36%
B.	Birds	1%	0%	2%	2%	1%	1%	9%
C.	Gorillas	10%	0%	9%	11%	7%	9%	0%
D.	Not enough information is provided	43%	33%	43%	45%	41%	43%	55%