Science Task Prescreen
Task Title: The Concrete Jungle: Anole Lizard Adaptation
Grade: High School
Date: April 17, 2026
SEP: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
DCI: LS4.C: Adaptation
CCC: Cause and Effect
Task Purpose: To assess students’ ability to construct an explanation based on evidence for how natural selection leads to adaptation in a population of lizards.
Instructions
- Before you begin: Complete the task as a student would. Then, consider any support materials provided to teachers or students, such as contextual information about the task and answer keys/rubrics.
- Prescreen: Answer the following high-level questions to identify any major red flags (🚩) in your task. If you find one or more red flags, consider the purpose of the task and the evidence gathered to determine whether the task warrants a deeper dive.
Prescreen Questionnaire
| Question | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Is there a phenomenon or problem driving the task? | [x] | [ ] 🚩 |
| 2. Can the majority of the task be answered without using information provided by the task scenario? | [ ] 🚩 | [x] |
| 3. Can significant portions of the task be answered successfully by using rote knowledge (e.g., definitions, prescriptive or memorized procedure)? | [ ] 🚩 | [x] |
| 4. Does the majority of the task require students to use reasoning to successfully complete the task? | [x] | [ ] 🚩 |
| 5. Does the task require students to use some understanding of disciplinary core ideas to successfully complete the task? | [x] | [ ] 🚩 |
| 6. Do students have to use at least one science and engineering practice to successfully complete the task? | [x] | [ ] 🚩 |
| 7. Are the dimensions assessed separately in the majority of the task? | [ ] 🚩 | [x] |
| 8. Is the task coherent and comprehensible from the student perspective? | [x] | [ ] 🚩 |
Recommendation
Based on your assessment needs and the task purpose recorded above, make a recommendation about this task moving forward (choose one):
- Warrants further review.
- Should not be used.
Summary
Summarize your evidence and reasoning:
The task is centered on the real-world phenomenon of rapid evolution in urban anole lizards. Students must use the simulation to collect data (Explore) and then apply reasoning (Explain) to connect surface types to selective pressures and competitive advantages. Rote knowledge is minimized; students cannot explain the trend without interacting with the simulation and analyzing the data tables. The task effectively integrates SEP (Constructing Explanations), DCI (Adaptation), and CCC (Cause and Effect).