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Archive for October, 2010

Geometry Q1 benchmark performance

Thursday, October 28th, 2010

Results from Geometry Q1 benchmark performance (10/15/2010):

Standards/Clusters Tested
Standard/Cluster	Description	# Items
California MA.8-12.G.15.0 ( 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students use the Pythagorean theorem to determine distance and find missing lengths of sides of right triangles.	5
California MA.8-12.G.2.0 ( 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students write geometric proofs, including proofs by contradiction.	8
California MA.6.NS.2.2 ( 6 )	Explain the meaning of multiplication and division of positive fractions and perform the calculations (e.g., 5/8 ÷ 15/16 = 5/8 x 16/15 = 2/3).	2
California MA.8-12.G.8.0 ( 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know, derive, and solve problems involving the perimeter, circumference, area, volume, lateral area, and surface area of common geometric figures.	4
California MA.8-12.G.13.0 ( 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students prove relationships between angles in polygons by using properties of complementary, supplementary, vertical, and exterior angles.	2
California MA.8-12.G.3.0 ( 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students construct and judge the validity of a logical argument and give counterexamples to disprove a statement.	10

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Algebra 1 Q1 Benchmark performance

Thursday, October 28th, 2010

Results from Algebra 1 Q1 Benchmark performance (10/26/2010):

Standards/Clusters Tested
Standard/Cluster	Description	# Items
California MA.8-12.AI.5.0 ( 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students solve multistep problems, including word problems, involving linear equations and linear inequalities in one variable and provide justification for each step.	50

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Algebra 2 Q1 benchmark performance

Thursday, October 28th, 2010

Results for Algebra 2 Q1 benchmark performance (10/26/2010):

Standards/Clusters Tested
Standard/Cluster	Description	# Items
California MA.8-12.AII.1.0 ( 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students solve equations and inequalities involving absolute value.	4
California MA.8-12.AII.2.0 ( 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students solve systems of linear equations and inequalities (in two or three variables) by substitution, with graphs, or with matrices.	14
California MA.8-12.AI.16.0 ( 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students understand the concepts of a relation and a function, determine whether a given relation defines a function, and give pertinent information about given relations and functions.	5
California MA.8-12.AI.3.0 ( 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students solve equations and inequalities involving absolute values.	2

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Trigonometry / PreCalculus Q1 benchmark performance

Thursday, October 28th, 2010

Results for Trigonometry / PreCalculus Q1 benchmark performance (10/26/2010):

Standards/Clusters Tested
Standard/Cluster	Description	# Items
California MA.8-12.AI.16.0 ( 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students understand the concepts of a relation and a function, determine whether a given relation defines a function, and give pertinent information about given relations and functions.	5
California MA.8-12.AI.14.0 ( 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students solve a quadratic equation by factoring or completing the square.	2
California MA.8-12.AI.11.0 ( 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students apply basic factoring techniques to second- and simple third-degree polynomials. These techniques include finding a common factor for all terms in a polynomial, recognizing the difference of two squares, and recognizing perfect squares of binomials.	2
California MA.8-12.AI.7.0 ( 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students verify that a point lies on a line, given an equation of the line. Students are able to derive linear equations by using the point-slope formula.	5
California MA.8-12.AI.8.0 ( 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students understand the concepts of parallel lines and perpendicular lines and how those slopes are related. Students are able to find the equation of a line perpendicular to a given line that passes through a given point.	2
California MA.8-12.AII.10.0 ( 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students graph quadratic functions and determine the maxima, minima, and zeros of the function.	4
California MA.8-12.AII.17.0 ( 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Given a quadratic equation of the form ax² + by² + cx + dy + e = 0, students can use the method for completing the square to put the equation into standard form and can recognize whether the graph of the equation is a circle, ellipse, parabola, or hyperbola. Students can then graph the equation.	1
California MA.8-12.AII.2.0 ( 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students solve systems of linear equations and inequalities (in two or three variables) by substitution, with graphs, or with matrices.	1
California MA.8-12.AII.5.0 ( 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students demonstrate knowledge of how real and complex numbers are related both arithmetically and graphically. In particular, they can plot complex numbers as points in the plane.	3
California MA.8-12.AII.4.0 ( 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students factor polynomials representing the difference of squares, perfect square trinomials, and the sum and difference of two cubes.	5
California MA.8-12.AII.6.0 ( 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students add, subtract, multiply, and divide complex numbers.	4
California MA.8-12.AII.9.0 ( 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students demonstrate and explain the effect that changing a coefficient has on the graph of quadratic functions; that is, students can determine how the graph of a parabola changes as a, b, and c vary in the equation y = a(x – b)² + c.	1
California MA.8-12.G.17.0 ( 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students prove theorems by using coordinate geometry, including the midpoint of a line segment, the distance formula, and various forms of equations of lines and circles.	2
California MA.8-12.G.8.0 ( 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know, derive, and solve problems involving the perimeter, circumference, area, volume, lateral area, and surface area of common geometric figures.	4

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United States History Q1 benchmark performance

Wednesday, October 27th, 2010

Results for United States History Q1 benchmark performance (10/14/2010):

Standards/Clusters Tested
Standard/Cluster	Description	# Items
California SOC.11.US.11.1.1 ( 11 )	Describe the Enlightenment and the rise of democratic ideas as the context in which the nation was founded.	2
California SOC.11.US.11.1.2 ( 11 )	Analyze the ideological origins of the American Revolution, the Founding Fathers’ philosophy of divinely bestowed unalienable natural rights, the debates on the drafting and ratification of the Constitution, and the addition of the Bill of Rights.	22
National Standards b ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	explain the purpose of government and analyze how its powers are acquired, used, and justified;	4
California SOC.11.US.11.1.3 ( 11 )	Understand the history of the Constitution after 1787 with emphasis on federal versus state authority and growing democratization.	13
California SOC.11.US.11.3.1 ( 11 )	Describe the contributions of various religious groups to American civic principles and social reform movements (e.g., civil and human rights, individual responsibility and the work ethic, antimonarchy and self-rule, worker protection, family-centered communities).	1

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Chemistry “Specific Heat and States of Matter” Q1 benchmark performance

Tuesday, October 26th, 2010

Results from Chemistry “Specific Heat and States of Matter” Q1 benchmark performance (10/25/2010):

Standards/Clusters Tested
Standard/Cluster	Description	# Items
California SCI.9-12.CH.4.g ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know the kinetic theory of gases relates the absolute temperature of a gas to the average kinetic energy of its molecules or atoms.	2
California SCI.9-12.CH.4.f ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know there is no temperature lower than 0 Kelvin.	1
California SCI.9-12.CH.4.e ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know how to convert between the Celsius and Kelvin temperature scales.	4
California SCI.9-12.CH.7.d ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know how to solve problems involving heat flow and temperature changes, using known values of specific heat and latent heat of phase change.	6
California SCI.9-12.IE.1.b ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Identify and communicate sources of unavoidable experimental error.	1
California SCI.9-12.CH.7.c ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know energy is released when a material condenses or freezes and is absorbed when a material evaporates or melts.	5
California SCI.9-12.CH.6.b ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know how to describe the dissolving process at the molecular level by using the concept of random molecular motion.	2
California SCI.9-12.CH.2.d ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know the atoms and molecules in liquids move in a random pattern relative to one another because the intermolecular forces are too weak to hold the atoms or molecules in a solid form.	1

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9th grade Biology Themes and Tools of Life Q1 benchmark performance

Tuesday, October 26th, 2010

Results from the 9th grade Biology Themes and Tools of Life Q1 benchmark performance (10/06/2010):

Standards/Clusters Tested
Standard/Cluster	Description	# Items
California SCI.9-12.BI.1.a ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know cells are enclosed within semipermeable membranes that regulate their interaction with their surroundings.	4
California SCI.9-12.BI.8.a ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know how natural selection determines the differential survival of groups of organisms.	5
California SCI.9-12.BI.1.b ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know enzymes are proteins that catalyze biochemical reactions without altering the reaction equilibrium and the activities of enzymes depend on the temperature, ionic conditions, and the pH of the surroundings.	7
California SCI.9-12.BI.1.c ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know how prokaryotic cells, eukaryotic cells (including those from plants and animals), and viruses differ in complexity and general structure.	1
California SCI.9-12.BI.9.i ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know how hormones (including digestive, reproductive, osmoregulatory) provide internal feedback mechanisms for homeostasis at the cellular level and in whole organisms.	3
California SCI.9-12.BI.2.a ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know meiosis is an early step in sexual reproduction in which the pairs of chromosomes separate and segregate randomly during cell division to produce gametes containing one chromosome of each type.	3
California SCI.9-12.BI.1.g ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know the role of the mitochondria in making stored chemical-bond energy available to cells by completing the breakdown of glucose to carbon dioxide.	3
California SCI.9-12.BI.1.h ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know most macromolecules (polysaccharides, nucleic acids, proteins, lipids) in cells and organisms are synthesized from a small collection of simple precursors.	3
California SCI.9-12.BI.7.a ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know why natural selection acts on the phenotype rather than the genotype of an organism.	1
California SCI.9-12.ES.7.b ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know the global carbon cycle: the different physical and chemical forms of carbon in the atmosphere, oceans, biomass, fossil fuels, and the movement of carbon among these reservoirs.	1
California SCI.9-12.ES.7.a ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know the carbon cycle of photosynthesis and respiration and the nitrogen cycle.	1
California SCI.9-12.BI.6.d ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know how water, carbon, and nitrogen cycle between abiotic resources and organic matter in the ecosystem and how oxygen cycles through photosynthesis and respiration.	1
California SCI.9-12.BI.6.e ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know a vital part of an ecosystem is the stability of its producers and decomposers.	1

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Conceptual Physics Q1 benchmark performance

Tuesday, October 26th, 2010

Results from the Conceptual Physics Q1 benchmark exam (10/19/2010):

Standards/Clusters Tested
Standard/Cluster	Description	# Items
California SCI.9-12.PH.1.a ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know how to solve problems that involve constant speed and average speed.	5
California SCI.9-12.PH.1.b ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know that when forces are balanced, no acceleration occurs; thus an object continues to move at a constant speed or stays at rest (Newton’s first law).	2
California SCI.9-12.PH.1.c ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know how to apply the law F = ma to solve one-dimensional motion problems that involve constant forces (Newton’s second law).	6
California SCI.9-12.PH.1.d ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know that when one object exerts a force on a second object, the second object always exerts a force of equal magnitude and in the opposite direction (Newton’s third law).	4
California SCI.9-12.PH.1.g ( 9, 10, 11, 12 )	Students know circular motion requires the application of a constant force directed toward the center of the circle.	3