How might a Maryland School Performance assessment item--or task--be described by a student taking the MSPAP? Here is how a task on "Planetary Patterns" might be viewed by an 8th grader.

1. Exploring a new solar system.

Today, my teacher asked us to imagine that we were scientists working at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Voyager spacecraft has been sending back data on a newly discovered solar system. There are four planets in this new system, and they have nearly circular orbits that do not overlap. A chart tells us the surface temperature, number of moons, tilt of axis and chemical composition of each planet. Based on this data and an orbit diagram, we have to identify similarities between patterns present in this new solar system and our own solar system. Looking at the model provided, I see that the planets in the new solar system orbit around a sun which is at the center of the system, just like ours. I also notice that the surface temperature of any planet in the system decreases as its distance from the sun increases.

2. More questions, more patterns.

Next we are asked to come up with at least three questions about the new solar system which are not answered by the chart. I have quite a few questions about the system, including the size of each planet, each planet's distance from the sun, the atmospheric pressure of each planet, and the age of the planet. Next, I am asked to identify and write about three repeating patterns of astronomical change that occur in the sky. I remember that the moon goes through phases regularly, the sun rises and sets each day, and there is a difference in the position of the stars in the sky as the seasons change.

3. Completing the orbit data logs and predicting planet positions.

My classmates and I are given a chart listing the position of the four planets in the new solar system for the months of January, February, March and April. Working with three other students, we must complete the orbit data logs, also provided in our packet, to show in a picture form where each planet is at each of these times. Working carefully, we pinpoint the position of each planet in each of the four months using the data given. Then, on our own, we use what we have learned about the rate of the orbit of each planet to predict the position of all four planets in the month of May. We are allowed to use pennies on our chart to represent planets and move them around the diagram to help make our predictions. Once our predictions are made, we write about our methods. I figured out how far each planet moved around its orbit in a month and moved the penny representing each planet the right distance, and there it was, at the right spot.

4. Reserving time on the orbiting space telescope.

The next instructions I read ask me to imagine that Space and Telescope Magazine wants to record the next planetary alignment of this new solar system. To do this, I need to figure out when the planets will be aligned so I can reserve time on the orbiting space telescope. This takes a little more doing than the last task, and I find that using the pennies on my diagram helps me keep track of the motion of the planets. Carefully keeping track of which month I am in, I move each planet around its orbit the right number of spaces. Finally, after moving all the planets around their orbits several times, I come to a month when they are all in a row, or aligned. This is the month I predict should be reserved for the use of the orbiting space telescope.

5. Conclusions and explanations for younger students.

Next, I write about how predicting the alignment of the planets was different from predicting their position in the month of May, one month after our data ended. It was a little more difficult to predict the alignment, but I found that by moving the pennies around the diagram one at a time and keeping track of the month, I was able to find the answer. In the space on our worksheet I write a paragraph for a younger student describing how the model of the solar system using orbit diagrams and pennies helped with my predictions. Finally, I write about how working with others in a group influenced or changed our beginning ideas about the position of the planets. My group basically agreed on how to go about predicting the positions of the planets, and our idea worked.

6. When we put it to the test, it was confirmed.

Planetary Patterns was challenging, I had to think carefully and logically. I also got a chance to use information I learned in my science class.