Science Assessment ~ Topics ~ Evolution & Heredity ~ Item EH049002 ~ Student Performance

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The DNA sequences of dogs and the DNA sequences of beetles differ in many ways. Which of the following mechanisms could lead to differences in the DNA sequences of dogs and beetles?

Gene mutations
Recombination of genes
Gene mutations and recombination of genes
Gene mutations, recombination of genes, and natural selection

Pre-Test

Distribution of responses (prior to studying evolution in high school)
Answer Choice		Overall	Grades		Gender		Primary Language
		n = 2269	6–8 n = 91	9–12 n = 2013	Male n = 963	Female n = 1143	English n = 2055	Other n = 63
A.	Gene mutations	9%	12%	9%	10%	9%	9%	6%
B.	Recombination of genes	8%	7%	8%	10%	6%	8%	8%
C.	Gene mutations and recombination of genes	28%	31%	28%	27%	29%	28%	22%
D.	Gene mutations, recombination of genes, and natural selection	54%	51%	55%	53%	56%	54%	63%

Post-Test (Control)

Distribution of responses (following typical high school instruction on evolution)
Answer Choice		Overall	Grades		Gender		Primary Language
		n = 1104	6–8 n = 70	9–12 n = 901	Male n = 434	Female n = 555	English n = 949	Other n = 33
A.	Gene mutations	11%	20%	10%	12%	10%	11%	9%
B.	Recombination of genes	5%	6%	4%	5%	4%	4%	6%
C.	Gene mutations and recombination of genes	23%	34%	22%	24%	23%	22%	33%
D.	Gene mutations, recombination of genes, and natural selection	61%	40%	64%	59%	64%	62%	52%

Post-Test (Treatment)

Distribution of responses (following completion of an evolution curriculum module)
Answer Choice		Overall	Grades		Gender		Primary Language
		n = 1165	6–8 n = 18	9–12 n = 1059	Male n = 535	Female n = 571	English n = 1055	Other n = 33
A.	Gene mutations	5%	11%	5%	7%	4%	5%	3%
B.	Recombination of genes	5%	6%	5%	5%	4%	5%	12%
C.	Gene mutations and recombination of genes	21%	11%	22%	20%	23%	22%	6%
D.	Gene mutations, recombination of genes, and natural selection	69%	72%	68%	67%	69%	68%	79%