Graph 3.1
Which science practice was tested the most on the last 3 exams?
Constructing explanations
How many questions in the January 2026 exam asked you to support a claim?
12
What percentage of questions on the June 2025 exam asked you to use information from a model or graph as evidence?
On which exam did 16% of the questions (7 total) ask you to justify a claim or explanation?
Are there LIKELY to be more questions on the June exam that require developing and using models OR asking questions? Explain your prediction.
There are likely to be more questions on developing and using models because there were 26 questions on the past 3 exams that used that practice, compared to only 10 questions that asked you to write a question
Out of the list provided, which instruction word will be the most common on the June exam and why?
Ex. "Use evidence" appears the most times on all 3 exams, so it will probably be the most common instruction.
Ex. "Describe" has consistently appeared 12-14 times on all 3 exams, so it will probably appear about that many times on the June exam.
Ex. The overall trend is that there was a slight increase, so about 60% of the questions will ask for evidence.
Ex. The percentage has stayed around 55%, so about 55% of the questions will ask for evidence.
Based on the past 3 exams, what % of questions on the June 2026 exam will require you to justify a claim or explanation? Why?
Ex. The past 3 exams have asked for justification on between 16-38% of the questions, so the June 2026 exam might have 23% of its questions in this format.
Ex. There has been an overall decrease in the percentage of questions that ask for justification of a claim, so if the trend continues the June exam might have 20% of its questions in this format.
Make an observation of graph 3.1 that helps answer the question "What science or engineering practices are most likely to be on the exam?"
Ex: There were 34 questions about constructing explanations, which is the most tested science practice.
Ex. There were equal numbers of questions about using mathematical thinking and developing/using models.
Make an observation of table 3.2 that helps answer the question "What skills are likely to be tested on the exam?"
Ex. "Explain" appeared 15 times on the August exam
Ex. The most common prompt on the June 2025 exam was "use evidence"
Make an observation of graph 3.3 that helps answer the question "What skills are likely to be tested on the exam?"
Ex. Between 40% and 60% of the questions have asked for evidence from a model or graph
Ex. In January, about 56% of the questions asked for evidence from a model or graph.
Make an observation of graph 3.4 that helps answer the question "What skills are likely to be tested on the exam?"
Ex. between 16-38% of questions have asked for justification of a claim or explanation
Ex. In January 2026, 28% of exam questions asked you to justify a claim or explanation