Science Assessment ~ Topics ~ Evolution and Natural Selection ~ Item EN050005 ~ Student Performance

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Which of the following statements is TRUE about the evolution of plants and animals?

All plants and all animals share a common ancestor with each other.
All plants share a common ancestor, but all animals do not share a common ancestor.
All animals share a common ancestor, but all plants do not share a common ancestor.
No plants species share a common ancestor with each other, no animal species share a common ancestor with each other, and no plants share a common ancestor with any animals.

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.	All plants and all animals share a common ancestor with each other.	42%	32%	41%	40%	42%	41%	42%
B.	All plants share a common ancestor, but all animals do not share a common ancestor.	23%	32%	23%	22%	24%	24%	0%
C.	All animals share a common ancestor, but all plants do not share a common ancestor.	21%	24%	21%	21%	20%	21%	32%
D.	No plants species share a common ancestor with each other, no animal species share a common ancestor with each other, and no plants share a common ancestor with any animals.	15%	12%	15%	17%	14%	14%	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.	All plants and all animals share a common ancestor with each other.	55%	30%	58%	55%	56%	55%	56%
B.	All plants share a common ancestor, but all animals do not share a common ancestor.	15%	17%	15%	16%	15%	15%	11%
C.	All animals share a common ancestor, but all plants do not share a common ancestor.	22%	39%	21%	20%	23%	22%	33%
D.	No plants species share a common ancestor with each other, no animal species share a common ancestor with each other, and no plants share a common ancestor with any animals.	7%	13%	6%	9%	6%	8%	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.	All plants and all animals share a common ancestor with each other.	85%	100%	84%	77%	91%	85%	73%
B.	All plants share a common ancestor, but all animals do not share a common ancestor.	5%	0%	5%	8%	4%	5%	18%
C.	All animals share a common ancestor, but all plants do not share a common ancestor.	7%	0%	8%	11%	5%	8%	9%
D.	No plants species share a common ancestor with each other, no animal species share a common ancestor with each other, and no plants share a common ancestor with any animals.	2%	0%	2%	5%	1%	2%	0%