Release Of February 2016 MCAS Biology Test Items
Release ofFebruary 2016MCAS BiologyTest ItemsMarch 2016Massachusetts Department ofElementary and Secondary Education
This document was prepared by theMassachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary EducationMitchell D. Chester, Ed.D.CommissionerThe Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, an affirmative action employer,is committed to ensuring that all of its programs and facilities are accessible to all members of the public.We do not discriminate on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity, national origin, race, religion, sex orsexual orientation. Inquiries regarding the Department’s compliance with Title IX and other civil rights laws maybe directed to the Human Resources Director, 75 Pleasant Street, Malden, MA 02148 781-338-6105. 2016 Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary EducationPermission is hereby granted to copy for non-commercial educational purposes any or all parts ofthis document. Please credit the “Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.”Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education75 Pleasant Street, Malden, MA 02148-4906Phone 781-338-3000 TTY: N.E.T. Relay 800-439-2370www.doe.mass.edu
Table of ContentsCommissioner’s ForewordI. Document Purpose and Structure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1II. February 2016 Biology Test. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Commissioner’s ForewordDear Colleagues:The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is committed to working in partnershipwith schools to support a system that will prepare all students to succeed as productive and contributing membersof our democratic society and the global economy. To assist in achieving this goal, the Department regularly releasesMassachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test items to provide information about the kinds ofknowledge and skills that students are expected to demonstrate. This publication contains all MCAS FebruaryBiology items on which student scores are based.The Department has banked thousands of MCAS items that are currently posted on the Department website. Theseitems, which are available at www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/testitems.html, will continue to be a rich resource for schools.This publication is available only on the Department website. The test items can be printed from this site. Iencourage educators to use the relevant sections of this document together with their test item analysis reports asguides for planning changes in curriculum and instruction that may be needed to support schools and districts intheir efforts to improve student performance.Thank you for your support as we work together to strengthen education for our students in Massachusetts.Sincerely,Mitchell D. Chester, Ed.D.Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education
I. Document Purpose and Structure
Document Purpose and StructurePurposeThe purpose of this document is to share with educators and the public the February 2016 MCAS Biology test itemson which student results are based. Local educators will be able to use this information to identify strengths andweaknesses in their curriculum and to plan instruction to more effectively meet their students’ individual needs.This document is also intended to be used by school and district personnel as a companion document to test itemanalysis reports. The reports list, for the school accessing the report, the names of all enrolled students who tookthe February 2016 Biology test as well as information about how each student answered each common test itemcontained in this document. The reports also label each item as multiple-choice or open-response and identify theitem’s MCAS reporting category. Item numbers in this document correlate directly to the item numbers in the testitem analysis reports.StructureChapter II of this document contains information for the February 2016 Biology test and has three main sections.The first section introduces the chapter by listing the Massachusetts curriculum framework content strands assessedby the Biology MCAS test. These content strands are identical to the MCAS reporting categories under which testresults are reported to schools and districts. The first section also provides the Web address for the Science andTechnology/Engineering Curriculum Framework and the page numbers on which the learning standards assessed bythe test items in the chapter can be found. In addition, there is a brief overview of the test (number of test sessions,types of items, and reference materials allowed).The second section contains the test items used to generate February 2016 MCAS student results for Biology. Thetest items in this document are shown in the same order and basic format in which they were presented in the testbooklet.The final section of the chapter is a table that cross-references each item with its MCAS reporting category and withthe Framework standard it assesses. Correct answers to multiple-choice questions are also listed in the table.Materials presented in this document are not formatted exactly as they appeared in student test booklets. Forexample, in order to present items most efficiently in this document, the following modifications have been made: Some fonts and/or font sizes may have been changed and/or reduced. S ome graphics may have been reduced in size from their appearance in student test booklets; however, theymaintain the same proportions in each case. A ll references to page numbers in answer booklets have been deleted from the directions that accompanytest items.2
II. February 2016 Biology Test
February 2016 Biology TestThe February 2016 high school MCAS Biology test was based on learning standards in the Biology contentstrand of the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2006). These learningstandards appear on pages 54–58 of the Framework, which is available on the Department website atwww.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/current.html.Biology test results are reported under the following five MCAS reporting categories: Biochemistry and Cell Biology Genetics Anatomy and Physiology Ecology Evolution and BiodiversityThe table at the conclusion of this chapter indicates each item’s reporting category and the frameworklearning standard it assesses. The correct answers for multiple-choice questions are also displayed in the table.Test SessionsThe MCAS high school Biology test included two separate test sessions, which were administered onconsecutive days. Each session included multiple-choice and open-response items.Reference Materials and ToolsThe high school Biology test was designed to be taken without the aid of a calculator. Students wereallowed to have calculators with them during testing, but calculators were not needed to answer questions.During both Biology test sessions, the use of bilingual word-to-word dictionaries was allowed for current and formerEnglish language learner students only. No other reference materials were allowed.4
BiologySession 1DIRECTIONSThis session contains twenty-one multiple-choice questions and two open-response questions. Markyour answers to these questions in the spaces provided in your Student Answer Booklet. You maywork out solutions to multiple-choice questions in the test booklet.ID:304987 B Common EQ1 ID:281189 A Common EQ2 Structures called microtubules are foundin the cytoplasm of most eukaryoticcells. Microtubules are made up ofproteins and help shape and supportthe cell.Under which of the followingconditions would an animal populationmost likely survive the effects of rapidclimate change?A. The population is highlymobile.Which of the following elements aremost abundant in microtubules?B. The population has a smallgeographic range.A. lead and zincB. nitrogen and carbonC. The individuals in the populationare carnivorous.C. sodium and chlorineD. The females in the population haveone or two offspring per litter.D. iodine and magnesium5
BiologySession 1ID:301420 D Common EQ3 ID:301359 BURRIC004 bacteria.eps B Common EQ4 In 1995, 15 iguanas of the speciesIguana iguana floated to the Caribbeanisland of Anguilla on a tree uprootedby a hurricane. No other iguanas of thatspecies existed on Anguilla. Scientiststhink that the iguanas came from theisland of Guadeloupe, about 120 kmsoutheast of Anguilla.Which of the following factors has themost influence on whether the iguanason Anguilla will become a separatespecies from the iguanas on Guadeloupeover time?The illustration below shows the externalfeatures of a prokaryotic organism.Which of the following can beconcluded about the internal cellularcontents of this prokaryote?A. how long ago the island ofAnguilla was formedA. The cell does not contain ribosomes.B. how much variation there is inthe body size of the iguanasB. The cell does not contain a nucleus.C. how many base pairs are inthe DNA sequence of the iguanasD. The cell contains a vacuole.C. The cell contains mitochondria.D. how different the environment onAnguilla is from that on Guadeloupe6
Biology Session 1ID:299813 C Common EQID:299388 3008718 AR1.eps B Common EQ5 6 The diagram below shows part of a foodweb in a salt marsh.EaglesHeronsA. the amount of oxygen in the bloodFishShorebirdsIn the human heart, a group of cells inthe wall of the right atrium producesnerve impulses that stimulate cardiacmuscle. What do these nerve impulsesdirectly control?B. the release of platelets into the bloodC. the speed at which the heart pumpsbloodD. the path blood takes when it leavesthe heartShrimpPhytoplanktonWhich organisms in the food webbelong to the trophic level that providesthe most available energy to theecosystem?A. heronsB. phytoplanktonC. shorebirdsD. shrimp7
BiologySession 1ID:304911 RITPAU077 amphibians.eps C Common EQ7 The three orders of amphibiansliving today are caecilians, frogs, andsalamanders. The cladogram belowrepresents how scientists once thoughtthese amphibian orders were alamandersBased on more recent evidence,scientists developed a new hypothesisto explain the evolutionary relationshipsamong amphibian orders, as representedin the cladogram below.CaeciliansSalamandersFrogsWhat evidence most likely led scientiststo revise their hypothesis about howamphibians are related?A. Embryos showed that salamandersand frogs have many commonstructures during development.B. The fossil record showed that thereare more extinct caecilians andsalamanders than extinct frogs.C. Comparisons of DNA sequencesshowed that the DNA of moderncaecilians and salamanders are mostsimilar to each other.D. Comparisons of skeletal structuresshowed that the skeletons of fossilsalamanders and modern frogs aremost similar to each other.8
Biology Session 1The following section focuses on fruit fly genetics.Read the information below and use it to answer the four multiple-choice questions and oneopen-response question that follow.ID:294961 WHIKAR013 mod2 chromosome Common EQSince the early 1900s, scientists have been studying the inheritance patterns of genetic traits in the fruit flyDrosophila. In Drosophila, genetic information is stored in four chromosome pairs. The diagrams belowshow the chromosome pairs in male and female Drosophila body cells.Male DrosophilaChromosomesFemale DrosophilaChromosomesPair I (X/Y)Pair I (X/X)Pair IIPair IIIPair IIPair IVPair IIIPair IVOne of the genetic traits scientists have studied in Drosophila is wing structure. Inheritance of full-sizedwings versus short wings follows a pattern of complete dominance. The allele for full-sized wings (H) isdominant, and the allele for short wings (h) is recessive. Individuals with short wings are not able to fly.The diagram below represents one particular type of cross between parent Drosophila flies. The offspringproduced are the F1 generation.P (Parent) CrossMale parentFemale parentF1 generationof offspring Homozygousfull-sized wingsHomozygousshort wings9
BiologySession 1Mark your answers to multiple-choice questions 8 through 11 in the spaces provided in your StudentAnswer Booklet. Do not write your answers in this test booklet, but you may work out solutions tomultiple-choice questions in the test booklet.ID:294962 WHIKAR013 mod2 chromosome B Common EQ8 ID:294976 WHIKAR013 mod2 chromosome B Common EQ10 In which of the following cell structuresare the Drosophila chromosomeslocated?A. lysosomeB. nucleusA. a change in the shape of achromosomeC. ribosomeD. vacuoleB. a change in the DNA sequence ofa geneC. the insertion of a DNA strand duringmitosisID:294996 WHIKAR013 mod2 chromosome D Common EQ9 Full-sized wings are the typicalphenotype for Drosophila. Which ofthe following events most likely led tothe existence of the short-wing allele inDrosophila ?In which Drosophila cross would100% of the offspring be expected tohave the short-wing phenotype?D. the deletion of a chromosome duringmeiosisA. heterozygous male 3heterozygous femaleID:294974 WHIKAR013 mod2 chromosome A Common EQ11 B. heterozygous male 3homozygous recessive femaleWhich type of molecule do Drosophilachromosomes primarily contain?C. homozygous dominant male 3heterozygous femaleA. DNAD. homozygous recessive male 3homozygous recessive femaleC. lipidsB. RNAD. monosaccharides10
Biology Session 1Question 12 is an open-response question. BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.Show all your work (diagrams, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.Write your answer to question 12 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.ID:295002 WHIKAR013 mod2 chromosome Common EQ12 The P cross between the male and female parent Drosophila flies produces the F1 generationof offspring. Based on the genetic traits of the parents in the cross, scientists can predict thegenotypes and phenotypes of the offspring.a. Using allele symbols, identify the genotype of the male parent fly in the P cross.b. Using allele symbols, identify the genotype of the female parent fly in the P cross.c. Determine the expected percentage of each phenotype in the F1 generation of offspring.Draw a Punnett square to support your answer.d. Explain why a fly in the F1 generation can have the same phenotype but a differentgenotype than one of the parent flies. Include specific information from the cross tosupport your answer.11
BiologySession 1Mark your answers to multiple-choice questions 13 through 22 in the spaces provided in your StudentAnswer Booklet. Do not write your answers in this test booklet, but you may work out solutions tomultiple-choice questions in the test booklet.ID:234780 A Common EQ13 ID:299766 C Common EQ14 A body cell of a sand dollar has52 chromosomes. How manychromosomes should a sand dollargamete contain?A.26B.52C.78An English doctor is given credit fordeveloping the modern terrarium in the1800s. The doctor kept some plants in asealed glass jar containing soil and air.The plants survived in the sealed jar forfour years.What two processes allowed the plantsto cycle nutrients and survive in thesealed jar?D. 104A. meiosis and fertilizationB. mutualism and commensalismC. photosynthesis and cellularrespirationD. asexual reproduction and sexualreproduction12
Biology Session 1ID:301347 ZONVER026 Birthstabilizin B Common EQPrior to recent medical advances, natural selection favored human infants with intermediatebirth weights of around 3.6 kg. Which of the following graphs shows the distribution of birthweights and the corresponding death rates under this selection pressure?1.82.73.6Births (%)Births (%)0.9Deaths (%)C.Deaths (%)A.4.50.9Birth Weight (kg)Deaths1.82.73.64.5Birth Weight (kg)BirthsDeathsBirths0.91.82.73.6Births (%)4.50.9Birth Weight (kg)DeathsDeaths (%)D.Deaths (%)B.Births (%)15 1.82.73.64.5Birth Weight (kg)BirthsDeaths13Births
BiologySession 1ID:279802 C Common EQID:301374 BURRIC021 Schwann.eps C Common EQ16 17 The axons of some vertebrate neuronsare wrapped with special cells calledSchwann cells, as shown below.Which of the following types oforganisms have cell walls composedof cellulose?A. amoebasSchwann cellsB. birdsC. grassesD. wormsNodesWhich type of signal jumps from nodeto node between the Schwann cells tomove down the axon?A. a digital pulseB. a magnetic pulseC. an electrical signalD. a glycoprotein signal14
Biology Session 1ID:305802 A Common EQID:299785 C Common EQ18 19 The larvae of the common sulphurbutterfly can be light green or brightyellow. Birds prey on the larvae, whichare found on the green leaves of alfalfaplants.Volcanic eruptions add carbon dioxide tothe atmosphere. Which of the followingalso adds carbon dioxide directly to theatmosphere?A. burning a forestBased on the theory of natural selection,which of the following would scientistsexpect to observe in populations ofcommon sulphur butterfly larvae?B. forming fossil fuelsC. evaporation of a puddleD. erosion of igneous rocksA. All the green larvae develop yellowstripes before metamorphosis.B. All the yellow larvae and none ofthe green larvae are eaten by birds.ID:290929 87413x.eps B Common EQ20 C. The percentage of green larvae inthe population is much greater thanthe percentage of yellow larvae.The forelimbs of a whale and analligator have a similar structure, asshown below.WhaleD. The percentages of green larvaeand yellow larvae in the populationremain equal for many generations.AlligatorWhich of the following statements bestexplains this similarity in structure?A. The whale and the alligator evolvedat the same time.B. The whale and the alligator have arecent common ancestor.C. The whale and the alligator spend allof their time in the water.D. The whale and the alligator have thesame method of locomotion.15
BiologySession 1ID:299816 B Common EQID:290947 D Common EQ21 22 Populations of a European salamander,Proteus anguinus, live in undergroundcaves that have a limited food supply.One of the salamander’s adaptations isthe ability to significantly reduce its rateof metabolism when food is scarce.When astronauts are in low-gravityenvironments, their bodies begin torelease stored calcium. As a result, whichof the following most likely occurswhen an astronaut returns to Earth?A. The risk of inflamed tendonsincreases.Which of the following statementsbest describes how the process ofnatural selection led to this adaptation?B. The chance of breaking a boneincreases.A. Salamanders with the ability toslow their metabolism grewmore slowly than othersalamanders.C. The stomach’s level of functioningdecreases.D. The blood’s ability to carry oxygendecreases.B. Salamanders with the ability toslow their metabolism were morelikely to emigrate than othersalamanders.C. Salamanders with the ability toslow their metabolism underwentmore rapid mutation than othersalamanders.D. Salamanders with the ability toslow their metabolism were morelikely to survive and reproduce thanother salamanders.16
Biology Session 1Question 23 is an open-response question. BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.Show all your work (diagrams, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.Write your answer to question 23 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.ID:275542 Common EQ23 At high altitudes, air is less dense than at sea level because of decreased air pressure. Thismeans that a person who ascends to high altitudes takes in fewer oxygen molecules per breath.a. Describe and explain an immediate response that occurs in the respiratory system when aperson first reaches high altitudes.b. Describe and explain an immediate response that occurs in the circulatory system when aperson first reaches high altitudes.If a perso
All references to page numbers in answer booklets have been deleted from the directions that accompany test items. II. February 2016 Biology Test. 4 February 2016 Biology Test The February 2016 high school MCAS Biology test was based on learning standards in the Biology content strand of the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering .
2016 MCAS Results September 29, 2016 Page 4 8 Year Math CPI Results For State, District, and Schools Ranked by 2016 CPI School el 2009 Math MCAS 2010 Math MCAS 2011 Math MCAS 2012 Math MCAS 2013 Math MCAS 2014 Math MCAS 2015 Math MCAS 2016 Math PARCC Sewell-Anderson 1 80.0 78.7 76.7 84.2 88.3 89.0 89.3 92.5
Beginning MCAs (open at start of FY 2016-17) 531 Ending MCAs (open at end of FY 2016-17) 568 Past Due MCAs High-risk past due MCAs 33 Medium/low risk past due MCAs as of June 30, 2017 151 . . Overall results are summarized systemwide with key themes identified. Corrective action and associated
public release of statewide MCAS results for all 10th-graders and for students in grades 3 through 8 who took MCAS. In Springfield, 27 schools took the MCAS test and 31 took PARCC (with four schools taking parts of both). From 2012 to 2015, SPS students’ MCAS Composite Performance Index (CPI), which measures academic
Reporting Period: January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016 Filing Deadline: April 30, 2017 Contact Information MCAS Administrator The person responsible for assigning who may view and input company data. MCAS Contact The person most knowledgeable about the submitted MCAS data. This person can be the same as the MCAS Administrator. MCAS Attestor
Sep 08, 2016 · MCAs State Government MCAs Other Organization MCAs Total MCAs 5.0 miles of surface water channel per square mile (1:5,000-scale mapping) 2.5 miles of surface water channel per square mile (1:24,000-scale) 1.0 mile of surface water channel per square mile (1:100,000-scale) I don't know Data not provided Stream density
2020 MCAS Biology test, including the reporting category and standards associated with each item. Beginning in 2019, the Department no longer releases items from the February Biology test. The decision to withhold the items from the February Biology test assists the Department in producing hig
Revision: 03/2014 The MCAS Timetable The MCAS process begins in November, when call letters are sent to the companies. On July 1, 60 days after the due date (April 30), scorecards are posted on the MCAS Web page. The scorecard allows companies to compare their specific results to
since 2012. The third and final year of the strategy provided a good opportunity for us . to take stock of what we as nurses, midwives and care staff have achieved through the strategy and how we have contributed to ensuring high quality, compassionate care. This means not only thinking about this final year, but also reflecting on the last three years as a whole. I have been privileged to .
