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Assessment Pack — Science 8

Term 1 · CG Quarter 1: Life Science · School Year 2026–2027

A Table of Specifications, two summative tests with keys, a weekly check, and the rubrics for the four quarterly performance tasks the curriculum guide requires.

Quarter 1 is Life Science, not Materials. Grades 7 to 10 rotate the four domains; Grade 8 opens on Life Science and reaches the atom in Quarter 2. See syllabus.md §3.3.

1. How assessment works this year

Per DO No. 015, s. 2026, for a Key Stage 3 core learning area:

Component Weight What feeds it in Quarter 1
Written Works 20% Weekly worksheets, weekly checks, Summative 1 and 2, the pooled coin data, the class trait survey
Performance Tasks 50% The Quarter 1 performance task from the guide, and the two group activities in offline-activities.md
Examinations 30% The Term 1 examination

Half the grade is performance, and the guide sets the task — page 17 requires at least one substantial performance task for each quarter.

⚠️ The weights are reported, not read. Two independent search passes returned the same 20 / 50 / 30 split. Confirm before computing a real grade.

The rule this pack applies that Grade 7's did not

Probability items are marked on the reasoning, never on the number. One in four is the right answer to several questions in this pack and can be produced by a learner who thinks it means one child in every four. Every probability item below therefore asks for an explanation and awards most of the mark there — and the model answers say what a correct number with a wrong reason looks like, so it can be caught.

2. Table of Specifications

Quarter 1 · Life Science · 11 competencies · 50 items across the quarter

Quarter 1 competency Week Items Cognitive demand
1. Tracing food through the digestive tract 1 6 Understanding
2. Body systems working together 2 4 Analysis
3. Plant organs as a transport system 2 3 Understanding
4. Patterns of inheritance through a family 3 5 Application
5. Predicting offspring ratios 4 12 Application and analysis
6. Six kingdoms and three domains 5 4 Recall
7. Why humans are Mammalia and Primates 5 3 Understanding
8. Carbon, oxygen and water cycles 6 5 Understanding
9. Photosynthesis and respiration 7 5 Understanding
10. Where in the cell they occur 7 2 Recall
11. Planning the photosynthesis investigation 7 1 Synthesis
Total 50

Twelve items for competency 5. It is the only competency in the quarter that requires a probabilistic claim, and it is the one Grade 9 Quarter 3 assumes when it reaches DNA, genes and chromosomes.

3. Summative Test 1 — Week 5

Twelve items · 30 minutes · Written Works

Section A — fill and read. T = tall, dominant. t = semi-dwarf, recessive.

  1. Complete the square for Tt × Tt and give the four cells. (2 marks)
  2. Give the genotype ratio for that cross. (1 mark)
  3. Give the phenotype ratio for that cross. (1 mark)
  4. Explain in one sentence why items 2 and 3 have different numbers of terms. (2 marks)
  5. Complete the square for Tt × tt and give the phenotype ratio. (2 marks)
  6. Which cross gives every offspring the same genotype? (1 mark)

Section B — what it means.

  1. A Tt × Tt couple has four children. How many will show the recessive trait? Explain. (3 marks)
  2. The same couple's first three children all show the dominant trait. What is the chance the fourth shows the recessive one? Explain. (3 marks)
  3. Two tall plants produce a semi-dwarf offspring. Give the parents' genotypes and say how you know. (2 marks)
  4. Is a dominant trait always the more common one in a population? Give an example to support your answer. (2 marks)
  5. In a Tt organism, what has happened to the t? (1 mark)
  6. A farmer plants 400 seeds from a Tt × Tt cross. Roughly how many semi-dwarf plants would you expect, and how confident are you? (2 marks)

Key and marking notes

# Answer Note
1 TT, Tt, Tt, tt 2 marks. 1 for the square drawn, 1 for the cells
2 1 TT : 2 Tt : 1 tt —
3 3 tall : 1 semi-dwarf —
4 — 2 marks. TT and Tt look the same, so two genotypes share one phenotype
5 Tt, Tt, tt, tt; 1 : 1 2 marks
6 TT × tt —
7 — 3 marks. 1 for any number from 0 to 4; 2 for each child has an independent 1 in 4 chance. A bare "one" scores 0, even though one is the most likely single answer
8 — 3 marks. 1 for 1 in 4; 2 for unchanged, because each conception is independent. "1 in 4" with no reason scores 1 — the number is available by copying item 7
9 Both Tt; a tt offspring needs a t from each parent 2 marks
10 — 2 marks. No; 1 for the answer, 1 for an example. Accept extra fingers (dominant, rare) or blood type O (recessive, common here)
11 Nothing — it is unchanged and can be passed on —
12 — 2 marks. 1 for about 100; 1 for saying it is an estimate that large numbers make reliable. "Exactly 100" scores 1

Total: 22 marks. As a percentage: marks ÷ 22 × 100.

4. Weekly Check — Week 4, Day 5

Seven items · 12 minutes · Written Works

  1. Complete: Tt × Tt → the four cells.
  2. Genotype ratio for that cross.
  3. Phenotype ratio for that cross.
  4. TRUE or FALSE: dominant means more common in the population.
  5. TRUE or FALSE: in Tt, the T weakens the t.
  6. Two tall parents have a semi-dwarf offspring. What were their genotypes?
  7. A couple are both Tt. They have four children and all four show the recessive trait. Has something gone wrong with the genetics? Explain using the word chance.

Key

# Answer
1 TT, Tt, Tt, tt
2 1 : 2 : 1
3 3 : 1
4 False
5 False
6 Both Tt
7 See below

About item 7

This is the item that reads. Items 1 to 6 are on the wall chart by Friday.

What the learner wrote What it means
No — each child had an independent 1 in 4 chance; four in a row is unlikely but possible Full understanding
No, with no explanation Half. The word chance was asked for and is missing
Yes, something is wrong The diagnostic answer. The ratio has been read as a quota
The parents cannot both be Tt Wrong, and for a reason worth answering in front of the class: unlikely is not impossible, and about 1 in 256 families like this will look exactly like that one

5. Summative Test 2 — Week 8

Twelve items · 30 minutes · Written Works

Covers competencies 1 to 3 and 6 to 11, and returns to competency 5 in items 11 and 12.

  1. Put these in order along the digestive tract: small intestine, mouth, large intestine, stomach, gullet. (2 marks)
  2. Name the digestive process that is purely mechanical, and one that is chemical. (2 marks)
  3. Explain how the digestive and circulatory systems work together. (2 marks)
  4. Which plant organ absorbs water, and which carries it upward? (2 marks)
  5. Name the six kingdoms. (3 marks)
  6. Why are humans placed in Class Mammalia? Give two reasons. (2 marks)
  7. In the carbon cycle, name one process that removes carbon dioxide from the air and one that adds it. (2 marks)
  8. Write the raw materials and products of photosynthesis. (4 marks)
  9. Where in the cell does photosynthesis occur? Where does respiration occur? (2 marks)
  10. Design an investigation to show that light is needed for photosynthesis. Name what you change, what you measure, and two things you keep the same. (4 marks)
  11. A cross gives a 1 : 1 phenotype ratio. What were the parents' genotypes? (1 mark)
  12. Explain why a plant breeder trusts a 3 : 1 ratio but a family cannot. (3 marks)

Key

# Answer Note
1 Mouth, gullet, stomach, small intestine, large intestine 2 marks
2 Mechanical: chewing. Chemical: secretion of digestive juices, or digestion in the stomach 2 marks
3 — 2 marks. Absorbed nutrients pass into the blood, which carries them to every cell
4 Roots absorb; the stem carries 2 marks
5 Animals, plants, fungi, protists, and the two prokaryote kingdoms (eubacteria and archaebacteria) 3 marks. Accept a school's own six-kingdom naming
6 Any two: hair, mammary glands, warm-blooded, live young 2 marks
7 Removes: photosynthesis. Adds: respiration, burning, decomposition 2 marks
8 Raw materials: carbon dioxide and water (plus light energy). Products: glucose and oxygen 4 marks
9 Chloroplasts; mitochondria 2 marks
10 — 4 marks. Change: light. Measure: starch produced, or oxygen bubbles. Same: plant type, water, temperature, time — any two
11 Tt × tt —
12 — 3 marks. 1 for large numbers land close to the ratio; 1 for four children is too few; 1 for saying the square gives a probability per offspring rather than an outcome

Total: 29 marks.

6. Performance Task Rubrics

Four tasks, one per quarter, as page 17 of the guide requires. Every task is the guide's own.

Each rubric is 4 criteria × 4 levels = 16 marks. As a percentage: marks ÷ 16 × 100.

Levels: 4 = Full · 3 = Sufficient · 2 = Partial · 1 = Just beginning

6.1 Quarter 1 — Verify the raw materials needed for photosynthesis

Conduct a scientific investigation to verify the raw materials needed for photosynthesis.

Criterion 4 — Full 3 — Sufficient 2 — Partial 1 — Just beginning
Design One variable changed, a control set up, everything else held and named Variable and control both present Variable changed, no control No comparison
The record Dated observations across the whole period, with what was measured and how Most observations recorded A first and last observation Nothing recorded
The conclusion Answers which raw material was tested, and points at the observation that shows it Answers the question States what was expected rather than what was seen Absent
Honesty about limits Says what the investigation could not rule out Mentions a limitation Claims certainty Not addressed

6.2 Quarter 2 — The atomic-model timeline or documentary

Design an illustrated timeline or create a documentary that describes and discusses the development of the models of atomic structure contributed by Dalton, Thomson, Rutherford, and Bohr.

Criterion 4 — Full 3 — Sufficient 2 — Partial 1 — Just beginning
All four scientists All four, in order, each with what they added All four present Two or three One
Why each model changed Each change tied to an observation the previous model could not explain Changes described Models listed with no reason for the change Absent
Accuracy Every model drawn or described correctly Mostly correct One significant error Not accurate
Communication A reader who did not attend the lesson could follow it Mostly clear Needs the maker present Not legible

6.3 Quarter 3 — A model house tested against typhoon wind

Design and construct a model house to withstand a simulation of wind speed in a typhoon, test the model, and redesign if needed.

Criterion 4 — Full 3 — Sufficient 2 — Partial 1 — Just beginning
Tested more than once Three or more tests, with the wind source kept comparable Two tests One test Not tested
Redesign Something was changed because of a test result, and the reason is stated Something was changed Nothing changed but a change is proposed Not addressed
Grounded in the science Roof pitch, anchoring or shape justified by how wind acts on a building One feature justified Features described Copied without reasons
Local relevance Refers to real construction where the school is Refers to Philippine conditions Generic Not addressed

6.4 Quarter 4 — A working battery-powered party light

Make a working model of a party light that uses batteries as the power source. Describe the scientific ideas that you have utilized to change the properties of light.

Criterion 4 — Full 3 — Sufficient 2 — Partial 1 — Just beginning
It works Lights reliably, and is safe to handle Lights Lights intermittently Does not light
Light is deliberately changed Reflection, refraction or colour used on purpose, and the effect described One property changed A light in a box No modification
The science named The correct term used for each effect, correctly Terms used, mostly right Effects described without terms Absent
Safety Battery handling and short-circuit risk both addressed One addressed Mentioned generally Not addressed

6.5 The group activities

The two group activities carry their own 12-mark rubrics in offline-activities.md. They are not repeated here.

7. What is deliberately not here

Absent Why
Two-trait crosses and 9 : 3 : 3 : 1 Beyond the competency, which says simple ratios and gene pairs. It is in the enrichment column of the ILAW plan, where it belongs
Codominance, incomplete dominance and blood groups Not in the Grade 8 competency. Teaching them here makes the dominant/recessive pattern look like one case among many before it has been secured as one
Full marks for a correct probability with no reason One in four is obtainable by copying the previous item. The reasoning is the competency
Real family data from the class A trait survey of the room is fine. Asking learners about their own parents' traits is not, and a class where somebody is adopted or does not know a parent makes that plain
A mark for the game game.html is formative. Marking it would advantage learners with a device at home

Part of the E-turo MATATAG artifact set. Companion files: syllabus.md · lesson-plan.md · lesson-plan-ilaw.md · class-record.html