Science Task Prescreen

Task Title: Nuclear Processes at Millstone Power Station

Grade: High School

Date: 2024-05-24

SEP: Developing and Using Models, Engaging in Argument from Evidence

DCI: PS1.C: Nuclear Processes, ESS3.A: Natural Resources

CCC: Energy and Matter, Stability and Change

Task Purpose: To assess students’ ability to model nuclear fission, compare energy scales of nuclear vs. chemical reactions, and perform a cost-benefit analysis of nuclear energy (specifically referencing the Millstone plant).

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 uses the real-world phenomenon of the Millstone Nuclear Power Station to contextualize the concepts. It requires students to run a model (SEP) to understand nuclear fission (DCI) and energy scales (CCC). Furthermore, it asks them to synthesize this information with environmental and geopolitical factors to engage in argument from evidence (SEP) about energy resources (DCI). It avoids rote memorization by prompting calculation and analysis based on the simulation outputs, meaning it warrants a deeper dive using the full Screener.