Science Task Prescreen

Task Title: Predicting Reaction Outcomes from Valence Electrons

Grade: High School

Date: 2026-04-21

SEP: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

DCI: PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter; PS1.B: Chemical Reactions

CCC: Patterns

Task Purpose: Determine whether students can construct evidence-based explanations for simple chemical reactions using valence electron reasoning and simulation outputs.

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 rote knowledge?	[ ] 🚩	[x]
4. Does the task require students to use reasoning to successfully complete the task?	[x]	[ ] 🚩
5. Does the task require students to use disciplinary core ideas?	[x]	[ ] 🚩
6. Do students have to use at least one science and engineering practice?	[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

Warrants further review.
Should not be used.

Summary

The task requires students to generate explanations using simulation evidence about valence electrons and periodic trends. The simulation supports visual and quantitative evidence (3D viewer and reactant/product prompts) that students must interpret. No prescreen red flags were found.