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.
S4L2 Students will identify factors that affect the survival or extinction of organisms such as
adaptation, variation of behaviors (hibernation), and external features
(camouflage and protection).
b. Identify factors that may have led to the extinction of some organisms.
Multiple Choice:
All toads need water to lay their eggs. Some toads lay their eggs in puddles on the
ground. One spring, there is very little rain. What is MOST LIKELY to happen to these
toads?
a. The toads will have fewer offspring.
b. The toads will have more food to eat.
c. The toads will be eaten by predators.
d. The toads will lay their eggs on the ground.
Answer: a
The Tasmanian tiger was declared extinct in 1936. What does this tell you about the
Tasmanian tiger?
a. There are only a few Tasmanian tigers left in the world.
b. The Tasmanian tiger is well adapted to its environment.
c. The Tasmanian tiger is not well adapted to its environment.
d. All Tasmanian tigers are dead and gone forever.
Answer: c
Suppose an ecosystem changes. One kind of organism CANNOT adapt to this change.
This organism is most likely to ___________.
a. recover
b. become angry
c. become extinct
d. go into hiding
Answer: c
The Aspen tree has a large root system below the ground. Scientists have discovered that
forest fires help the Aspen’s roots grow better. Forest fires also burn away competing
plants and leave behind soil that is rich in minerals. This soil is good for growing Aspens.
Which statement BEST describes Aspen trees?
a. They are adapted to forest fires.
b. They can move away from forest fires.
c. They are endangered by forest fires.
d. They are not affected by forest fires.
Answer: a
Which event is MOST LIKELY to cause an organism to become extinct?
a. a forest fire
b. use of camouflage
c. a sudden loss of habitat
d. extreme changes in temperature
Answer: c
A student is using an encyclopedia to study the dodo bird, a bird that became extinct in
the 1600s. She learns these facts.
• Humans probably first saw the dodo about the year 1507.
• It was about one meter tall when full grown.
• It lived in forests on an island in the Indian Ocean.
• Animals brought to the island by humans escaped and ate the dodo’s eggs.
Which sentence from the paragraph explains the MOST LIKELY reason dodo birds
became extinct?
a. Humans probably first saw the dodo about the year 1507.
b. It was about one meter tall when full grown.
c. It lived in forests on an island in the Indian Ocean.
d. Animals brought to the island by humans escaped and ate the dodo’s eggs.
Answer: d
Open ended:
How do humans affect ecosystems?
Why do some animal become extinct?
What causes plant and animal species to become endangered and extinct?
What does extinction mean and how do plants and animals become extinct?
Choose a plant or an animal that is living today. Give at least two things that could
cause that plant or animal to become extinct in the future.