Science Assessment ~ Topics ~ Evolution & Math ~ Item EM041003 ~ Student Performance

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Which of the following describes genes?

Genes are protein molecules.
Genes are segments of DNA molecules.
Genes are sequences of amino acid molecules.
Genes are traits, not molecules.

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.	Genes are protein molecules.	3%	4%	3%	4%	2%	4%	0%
B.	Genes are segments of DNA molecules.	65%	68%	65%	59%	70%	66%	63%
C.	Genes are sequences of amino acid molecules.	11%	12%	11%	11%	12%	11%	11%
D.	Genes are traits, not molecules.	20%	16%	20%	26%	16%	19%	26%

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.	Genes are protein molecules.	4%	9%	4%	4%	5%	4%	0%
B.	Genes are segments of DNA molecules.	63%	74%	61%	64%	60%	62%	89%
C.	Genes are sequences of amino acid molecules.	17%	4%	18%	16%	18%	17%	11%
D.	Genes are traits, not molecules.	16%	13%	17%	17%	17%	17%	0%

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.	Genes are protein molecules.	5%	0%	6%	6%	5%	6%	0%
B.	Genes are segments of DNA molecules.	61%	67%	60%	61%	61%	59%	91%
C.	Genes are sequences of amino acid molecules.	20%	0%	20%	17%	21%	20%	9%
D.	Genes are traits, not molecules.	14%	33%	15%	16%	14%	15%	0%