Sample Assessment Items
This is not meant to be printed off and given as a test…this document is to give you ideas
of how this standard might be assessed. Please use these as an example when you are
developing your own formative assessments. Remember formative assessment is to be
given throughout the teaching of a standard to help you guide your instruction based on
students needs. A good formative assessment should have a mix of multiple choice as
well as open ended.
S5L1 Students will classify organisms into groups and relate how they determined the
groups with how and why scientists use classification.
a. Demonstrate how animals are sorted into groups (vertebrate and invertebrate) and
how vertebrates are sorted into groups (fish, amphibian, reptile, bird, and mammal).
Multiple Choice:
Which of these makes vertebrates different from invertebrates?
a. Vertebrates have backbones.
b. Vertebrates live above water.
c. Vertebrates have two parents.
d. Vertebrates are warm-blooded.
Answer: a
Which physical characteristic classifies an animal as a mammal?
a. fur or hair
b. eyes and ears
c. hooves or horns
d. lungs and kidneys
Answer: a
Look at the chart Rita made about different kinds of animals.
Live on
Live in
WarmColdLand
Water
blooded blooded
Mammals
√
√
√
Birds
√
√
Amphibians
√
√
√
Reptiles
√
√
√
Based on Rita’s chart, which statement below is true?
a. All of these animals live on land.
b. There are no cold-blooded amphibians.
c. No warm-blooded animals live in the water.
d. All animals that live on land are warm-blooded.
Answer: a
What do all amphibians have in common?
a. They all feed on plants.
b. They are all cold-blooded.
c. They all care for their young.
d. They all live only in the water.
Answer: b
Jared wrote a report on reptiles for science class. He researched the following facts
about reptiles.
1. Reptile skin is dry with scales or plates.
2. Reptiles are cold-blooded animals.
3. Reptiles are born with lungs so they can live on land.
Based on Jared’s research, which of animal listed below is NOT a reptile?
a. frog
b. lizard
c. snake
d. turtle
Answer: a
Flatworms
crabs
starfish
These may all be classified as ______________.
a. crustaceans
b. invertebrates
c. predators
d. vertebrates
Answer: b
The pictures below show animals from different parts of the world.
Which characteristic listed below do all of these animals have that allows them to be
classified in the same group?
a. fur
b. claws
c. big ears
d. webbed feet
Answer: a
Open ended:
Why is it important to sort or classify or sort all living things by their characteristics?
The noun vertebra names the bones that make up an animal’s backbone. What is a
vertebrate? The prefix in- means not. How is an invertebrate different from a vertebrate?
How are vertebrates and invertebrates alike and different?
How are vertebrates classified? What are some of the characteristics of each group?
Label each statement below as TRUE or FALSE. If it is false, explain why.
All vertebrates have a backbone.
Mammals are the only vertebrate group that do not lay eggs.
All vertebrates have four legs.
Amphibians are covered in scales.
A snail has a skeleton.
Turtles have gills.
Why are humans considered animals?
Construct a Venn diagram to compare/contrast vertebrates and invertebrates.