Arrow symbol indicates correct answer. Internationally, fewer than half of the students selected the correct response about insect features. The heart rate question required students to design and communicate a scientific investigation. Fully correct responses described a procedure in which the pulse is measured at rest using a timer or watch, the individual engages in some type of physical activity, and then the pulse is remeasured during or after the exercise. Across countries, students found this item to be quite difficult, with only 14 percent of eighth-grade students, on average, providing a fully correct extended response.
Arrow symbol indicates correct answer.
Suppose you want to investigate how the human heart rate changes with changes in activity. Physics Topics covered by the physics items include different energy forms, physical transformations, forces and motion, and the properties of matter. Internationally, the students found the flashlight question to be very difficult. This practical problem relates to the nature of light. The students needed to communicate that the same amount of light reaches the wall regardless of the distance the flashlight is from the wall.