Achievement at the Median Benchmark
Exhibit
2.13 describes performance at the Median Benchmark. Students at
this benchmark could recognize and communicate basic scientific knowledge
across a range of topics. Internationally on average, 66 percent of
students extracted relevant information from the data table of planetary
conditions to describe why a condition would be hostile to human life
(see Example Item 11 in Exhibit
2.14). The majority said that there was too little oxygen in the
atmosphere on Proto to breathe. Other common responses that received
credit referred to low temperatures due to the greater distance from
the sun, and lack of an ozone layer to protect human beings from the
sun’s radiation. On this item, also, the United States and many
of the Benchmarking jurisdictions had relatively good performance.
The United States as a whole and 16 of the jurisdictions had performance
significantly above the international average, and none had below-average
performance.
At the Median Benchmark, students typically demonstrated some knowledge
of the characteristics of animals and plants. In Example 12 (see Exhibit
2.15), 70 percent of students on average across countries recognized
feeding milk to their young as a characteristic of mammals. This was
not an area of strength in the United States, where performance was
significantly below the international average. Only students in the
Academy School District and the Michigan Invitational Group performed
significantly above the international average, whereas students in
Maryland, North Carolina, and the public school systems in Rochester,
Miami-Dade, Chicago, and Jersey City performed below average.
Students at the Median Benchmark typically were familiar with some
aspects of force and motion. As shown in Example Item 13 in Exhibit
2.16, students scoring at this level could identify the diagram
showing forces that would result in rotation. Performance on this
item was at the international average (62 percent correct) for the
United States and for all Benchmarking participants except Chicago
and Miami-Dade, which had below-average performance.
In Example Item 14 (see Exhibit
2.17), students had to apply an understanding of the concept of
electrical circuits and the electrical conductivity of various materials
to identify the diagrams that show a complete circuit. Internationally,
64 percent of students on average correctly identified the circuits
connected to metallic materials. On this item, also, performance in
the United States was at about the international average. Although
seven of the comparison countries – Hong Kong, the Russian Federation,
Belgium (Flemish), Chinese Taipei, Singapore, Korea, and the Netherlands
– had above-average performance, only in Missouri and Naperville
was performance significantly above the international average.
At the Median Benchmark, students were able to apply basic knowledge
of the role of oxygen or air in rusting and burning. In Example Item
15 (see Exhibit
2.18), 67 percent of students internationally and more than 90
percent of those in top-performing Chinese Taipei recognized that
painting iron surfaces inhibits rust by preventing exposure to oxygen
and moisture. The United States and all but the four lowest-performing
Benchmarking participants had average performance on this item.
Students at the Median Benchmark showed some elementary knowledge
of the human impact on the environment, as illustrated by Example
Item 16 in Exhibit
2.19. Over two-thirds (68 percent) of students on average internationally
recognized that soil erosion is more likely in barren sloping areas.
Although the United States overall had about average performance on
this item, 13 of the Benchmarking participants performed significantly
above the international average, including the Academy School District,
which had performance comparable to high-scoring Chinese Taipei, Singapore,
and Hong Kong.
