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Grade 8 Magnetic Fields Task: Administration and Scoring Materials

This page provides the directions and questions as they were presented to students who took the Magnetic Fields task. In addition, following each question is a sample response, the scoring criteria used to judge performance on the question, and performance data for students in the nation.

In this task, students design and conduct investigations based on observations of magnetic properties to determine what materials four metal bars contain using only the metal bars. Students then follow this activity by repeating the investigation using a test magnet and comparing the results of the investigations to confirm their conclusions. Finally, students design and conduct investigations using various materials to compare the strengths of two magnets.

See the test booklet.

Directions and Materials for Magnetic Fields

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

PART 2

In Part 1, you found the identities of the four numbered metal bars using only the numbered metal bars. In Part 2, you will use a different method to identify the four metal bars (1, 2, 3, and 4) using only the test magnet.

Question 2

Now use the test magnet to identify the four numbered metal bars. In the middle column of Table 2 on page 9, describe your procedures and observations (what you did and what you saw) that helped you identify each bar. In the last column, record the identity of each numbered metal bar based on your results using the test magnet.

Your results might not be the same using the two different methods in Part 1 and Part 2. If your identifications of the metal bars changed from what
you recorded in Table 1, keep your original answers in both Table 1 and Table 2. You will use these results later in Question 3.

Sample correct student response:

TABLE 2: IDENTIFYING METAL BARS WITH THE TEST MAGNET

Explain how you identified each of the four metal bars using the test magnet. Refer to your observations in Table 2 on page 9 to support your explanation.

Sample correct student response:

Question 2: Scoring Guide

This item was scored in five parts.

Part A: Bar 1 using test magnet

Part B: Bar 2 using test magnet

Part C: Bar 3 using test magnet

Part D: Bar 4 using test magnet

Part E: How identity of bars was concluded using test magnet

Score and Description

Part A:

Complete:
Student response provides a complete procedure testing for attraction and repulsion by holding both ends of bar 1 next to one end of the test magnet, makes correct observations addressing attraction and repulsion, and correctly identifies the bar as the steel bar.

Essential:
Student response provides a complete procedure, makes inadequate or no observations about the bar, and correctly identifies the bar as the steel bar.

Student response provides a partial procedure that addresses attraction but not repulsion, makes observations about attraction, and correctly identifies the bar as the steel bar.

Partial:
Student response provides partial, inadequate, or no procedure or observations, and correctly identifies the bar as the steel bar.

Student response provides a procedure and observations that are consistent with the student’s identification of the bar, but identifies the bar incorrectly.

Student response provides procedures and/or observations that are inconsistent with the identification of the bar, but correctly identifies the bar as the steel bar.

Unsatisfactory/Incorrect:
Student response is inadequate or incorrect.

Part B:

Complete:
Student response provides a complete procedure testing for attraction, repulsion, and relative strength, such as holding both ends of bar 2 next to one end of the test magnet, and holding bar 2 next to another bar identified as a steel bar. Response makes correct observations that bar 2 attracts to one end of the test magnet and repels the other end, and bar 2 attracts bar 1 more strongly than bar 3 attracts bar 1. Response correctly identifies the bar as the strong magnet.

Essential:
Student response provides a complete or partial procedure using the test magnet, makes observations about the bar regarding attraction and/or repulsion but not relative strength, and correctly identifies the bar as the strong magnet.

Student response provides a complete or partial procedure using the test magnet, makes observations about the bar regarding attraction and relative strength but not repulsion, and correctly identifies the bar as the strong magnet.

Partial:
Student response provides a complete or partial procedure using the test magnet, makes observations regarding attraction only, and correctly identifies the bar as the strong magnet.

Student response provides a complete, partial, inadequate, or no procedure, makes inadequate or no observations, and correctly identifies the bar as the strong magnet.

Student response provides a procedure and observations that are consistent with the student’s identification of the bar, but identifies the bar incorrectly.

Student response provides procedures and/or observations that are inconsistent with the identification, but correctly identifies the bar as the strong magnet.

Unsatisfactory/Incorrect:
Student response is inadequate or incorrect.

Part C:

Complete:
Student response provides a complete procedure testing for attraction, repulsion, and relative strength, such as holding both ends of bar 3 next to one end of the test magnet, and holding bar 3 next to another bar identified as a steel bar. Response makes correct observations that bar 3 attracts to one end of the test magnet and repels the other end, and bar 3 attracts bar 1 more weakly than bar 2 attracts bar 1. Response correctly identifies the bar as the weak magnet.

Partial:
Student response provides a complete or partial procedure using the test magnet, makes observations regarding attraction only, and correctly identifies the bar as the weak magnet.

Student response provides a complete, partial, inadequate, or no procedure, makes inadequate or no observations, and correctly identifies the bar as the weak magnet.

Student response provides a procedure and observations that are consistent with the student’s identification of the bar, but identifies the bar incorrectly.

Student response provides procedures and/or observations that are inconsistent with the identification, but correctly identifies the bar as the strong magnet.

Unsatisfactory/Incorrect:
Student response is inadequate or incorrect.

Part D:

Complete:
Student response provides a complete procedure holding bar 4 next to the test magnet. Response makes correct observations that the test magnet has no effect on bar 4. Response correctly identifies the bar as the copper bar.

Essential:
Student response provides a complete procedure, makes inadequate or no observations about the bar, and correctly identifies the bar as the copper bar.

Partial:
Student response provides inadequate or no procedure, makes inadequate or no observations, and correctly identifies the bar as the copper bar.

Student response provides a procedure and observations that are consistent with the student’s identification of the bar, but identifies the bar incorrectly.

Student response provides procedures and/or observations that are inconsistent with the identification, but correctly identifies the bar as the copper bar.

Unsatisfactory/Incorrect:
Student response is inadequate or incorrect.

Part E:

Complete:
Student response provides a complete explanation for identifying all four numbered bars using the test magnet and refers to their observations to support each identity. The response mentions distinguishing the strong from the weak magnet (stronger force, pull, etc.), that magnets attract and repel, that steel only attracts the test magnet, and that copper does nothing (neither attracts nor repels test magnet) as evidence to support the conclusions.

Satisfactory:
Student response provides a complete explanation for identifying three of the numbered bars, referring to their observations as evidence to support the conclusions.

Essential:
Student response provides a complete explanation for identifying two of the numbered bars, referring to their observations as evidence to support the conclusions.

Partial:
Student response provides a complete explanation for identifying one of the numbered bars, referring to their observations as evidence to support the conclusions.

Student response provides a complete explanation for identifying a correct characteristic of at least one numbered bar, such as whether it is a magnet, or how to determine the relative strengths of magnets.

Unsatisfactory/Incorrect:
Student response is inadequate or incorrect.

Composite Score:

Student response received one of five possible composite scores based on the student’s combined performance on Parts A, B, C, D, and E of the item. For example, a student response Complete for Part A, Essential for Part B, Partial for Part C, Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for Part D, and Complete for Part E received a composite score of Satisfactory.

Composite Score	Score for Parts A, B, C, D	Score for Part E
Complete	Complete for all 4 parts	Complete or Satisfactory or Essential or Partial or Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
	Complete for 3 parts and Essential for 1 part	Complete or Satisfactory or Partial or Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
	Complete for 3 parts and Partial for 1 part	Complete
	Complete for 3 parts and Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 1 part	Complete or Satisfactory
	Complete for 2 parts and Essential for 2 parts	Complete or Satisfactory or Essential or Partial
	Complete for 1 part and Essential for 3 parts	Complete or Satisfactory or Essential
	Essential for all 4 parts	Complete or Satisfactory
	Complete for 2 parts, Essential for 1 part, and Partial for 1 part	Complete or Satisfactory or Essential
	Complete for 2 parts, Essential for 1 part, and Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 1 part	Complete or Satisfactory
	Complete for 1 part, Essential for 2 parts, and Partial for 1 part	Complete or Satisfactory
	Essential for 3 parts and Partial for 1 part	Complete or Satisfactory
	Complete for 1 part, Essential for 2 parts, and Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 1 part	Complete
Satisfactory	Complete for 3 parts and Partial for 1 part	Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
	Complete for 3 parts and Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 1 part	Partial or Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
	Complete for 2 parts, Essential for 1 part, and Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 1 part	Essential or Partial or Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
	Complete for 2 parts, Partial for 1 part, and Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 1 part	Satisfactory or Essential or Partial or Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
	Complete for 2 parts and Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 2 parts	Satisfactory or Essential or Partial or Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
	Complete for 1 part, Essential for 2 parts, and Partial for 1 part	Partial or Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
	Complete for 1 part, Essential for 2 parts, and Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 1 part	Satisfactory or Essential or Partial or Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
	Complete for 1 part, Essential for 1 part, Partial for 1 part, and Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 1 part	Complete or Satisfactory or Essential or Partial or Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
	Essential for 2 parts, Partial for 1 part, and Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 1 part	Complete or Satisfactory or Essential or Partial
	Essential for 1 part, Partial for 2 parts, and Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 1 part	Complete or Satisfactory or Essential
	Partial for all 4 parts	Complete or Satisfactory or Essential
	Partial for 3 parts and Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 1 part	Complete or Satisfactory
	Partial for 2 parts and Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 2 parts	Complete
Essential	Partial for 1 part, and Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 3 parts	Complete or Satisfactory or Essential
	Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for all 4 parts	Complete or Satisfactory
	Essential for 1 part, and Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 3 parts	Complete or Essential or Partial
	Essential for 1 part, Partial for 1 part, and Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 2 parts	Essential or Partial or Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
	Essential for 1 part, Partial for 2 parts, and Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 1 part	Partial or Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
	Essential for 1 part and Partial for 3 parts	Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
	Complete for 1 part and Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 3 parts	Essential or Partial or Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
	Complete for 1 part, Partial for 1 part, and Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 2 parts	Partial or Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
	Complete for 1 part, Partial for 2 parts, and Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 1 part	Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
	Complete for 1 part, Essential for 1 part, and Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 2 parts	Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
	Partial for all 4 parts	Partial or Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
Partial	Partial for 2 parts and Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 2 parts	Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
	Partial for 3 parts and Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 1 part	Partial or Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
	Essential for 1 part, and Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 3 parts	Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
	Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 4 parts	Essential or Partial
Unsatisfactory/Incorrect	Unsatisfactory/Incorrect for 4 parts	Unsatisfactory/Incorrect

Percentage of eighth-grade students in each response category: 2009
Complete	Satisfactory	Essential	Partial	Unsatisfactory/ incorrect	Omitted
10	41	25	17	7	1
NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

Question 3

Look at your results from the two different methods in Table 1 on page 7 and Table 2 on page 9.

In the second column of Table 3, for each bar write either “different” if you recorded a different identity or “same” if you recorded the same identity from this comparison of your results in Tables 1 and 2.

Then, in the last column of Table 3, fill in your final decision for the identity of each metal bar using the results from both methods. Base your decision on your observations in Tables 1 and 2.

Sample correct student response:

TABLE 3: COMPARING THE IDENTITIES OF THE METAL BARS

Remember: Keep your original identifications in Table 1 and Table 2. They will help you make comparisons in Table 3 and answer the question on the next page.

Are your identifications of the metal bars the same in Table 1 as in Table 2?

Sample correct student response:

A) Yes, my identification of each bar is the same in Table 1 as in Table 2. B) No, my identifications of some of the bars are different in Table 1 than in Table 2. C) No, my identifications of all of the bars are different in Table 1 than in Table 2. The student selected A.

Explain why based on your experiments in Part 1 and Part 2. Include the bar numbers in your answer.

Sample correct student response:

In both Part 1 and 2, I found that bar 2 was the strong magnet because it had poles, and attracted bar 1, 3, and the test magnet more strongly than bar 3. Bar 3 did the same, but weaker, so it was the weak magnet. Bar 4 wasnï¿½t attracted to any magnets, so it was copper. Bar 1 was steel, because it didnï¿½t have poles but was still attracted to the magnets.

Question 3: Scoring Guide

This item was scored in two parts.

Part A: Table 3

Part B: Explanation

Part A:

Complete:
In column 3 of Table 3, student response correctly identifies each of the four metal bars 1-4 as follows:

Bar 1 – Steel

Bar 2 – Strong Magnet

Bar 3 – Weak Magnet

Bar 4 – Copper

In column 2 of Table 3, student response states “same” or “different” for each of the four metal bars.

Satisfactory:

In column 3 of Table 3, student response correctly identifies three of the four metal bars.
In column 2 of Table 3, student response states “same” or “different” for each of the metal bars identified correctly.

Essential:
In column 3 of Table 3, student response correctly identifies two of the four metal bars.
In column 2 of Table 3, student response states “same” or “different” for each of the metal bars identified correctly.

Partial:
In column 3 of Table 3, student response correctly identifies one of the four metal bars.
In column 2 of Table 3, student response states “same” or “different” for the metal bar identified correctly.

Unsatisfactory/Incorrect:
Student response is inadequate or incorrect.

Part B:

Complete:

Student response selects (A), (B), or (C) and describes conclusive evidence for identifying at least two of the metal bars based on either or both of the investigations in Parts 1 and 2 of the task.

Partial:
Student response selects (A), (B), or (C), or does not make a selection and describes conclusive evidence for identifying one of the metal bars based on either or both of the investigations in Parts 1 and 2. Determination of the relative strength of a magnet may or may not be present.

Unsatisfactory/Incorrect:
Student response is inadequate or incorrect.

Composite Score:

Student response received one of five possible composite scores (Complete, Satisfactory, Essential, Partial, Unsatisfactory/Incorrect) based on the student's combined performance on Parts A and B of the item. For example, a student response Satisfactory for Part A and Partial for Part B received a composite score of Essential.

Composite Score	Part A	Part B
Complete	Complete	Complete
Satisfactory	Satisfactory	Complete
Satisfactory	Complete	Partial
Essential	Essential	Complete
	Essential	Partial
	Satisfactory	Partial
	Satisfactory	Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
	Complete	Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
	Partial	Complete
Partial	Essential	Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
	Unsatisfactory/Incorrect	Complete
	Partial	Partial
	Partial	Unsatisfactory/Incorrect
	Unsatisfactory/Incorrect	Partial
Unsatisfactory/Incorrect	Unsatisfactory/Incorrect	Unsatisfactory/Incorrect

Percentage of eighth-grade students in each response category: 2009
Complete	Satisfactory	Essential	Partial	Unsatisfactory/ incorrect	Omitted
5	10	29	37	18	2
NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2009 Science Assessment.