Keeping the Test Fair is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 science worksheet on planning fair tests with variables controlled, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 3-5-ETS1-3. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
2.In a slope test, what is the variable you change?
A.The amount of water
B.The angle of the slope
C.The cover on the slope
3.Your model bridge fails at the same joint every time. What does that tell you?
A.Bridges cannot be improved
B.That joint is the failure point to improve
C.The whole design is fine
4.A student tests one design outdoors and one indoors. What is wrong?
A.Nothing, both were tested
B.The conditions differ, so the results cannot be compared
C.Indoors is always better
5.You test two windbreaks. What must be the same for both?
A.The color of each
B.The wind, the place and how you measure the damage
C.Nothing at all
6.What is a failure point?
A.The part that gives way first under test
B.A test that was not done
C.A design nobody liked
7.You change two things and the result improves. What is the problem?
A.Nothing, it improved
B.You cannot tell which change helped
C.Two changes are always better
8.Why record what you controlled as well as what you changed?
A.So somebody else can judge whether the test was fair
B.To fill the page
C.It is not necessary
LessonPrint · 3-5-ETS1-3 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Keeping the Test Fair
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.One result might be unusual
2.The cover on the slope
3.That joint is the failure point to improve
4.The conditions differ, so the results cannot be compared
5.The wind, the place and how you measure the damage
6.The part that gives way first under test
7.You cannot tell which change helped
8.So somebody else can judge whether the test was fair
Questions about Keeping the Test Fair
What does the Keeping the Test Fair worksheet cover?
It practices planning fair tests with variables controlled — 8 questions for Grade 3 to Grade 5, all on NGSS 3-5-ETS1-3: Run fair tests, controlling the variables, to find what to improve. The instruction to students is “Circle the best answer”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which NGSS performance expectation does Keeping the Test Fair practice?
3-5-ETS1-3, under Engineering Design for Grade 3 to Grade 5. The published performance expectation reads: “Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.” The worksheet assesses that performance expectation rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Keeping the Test Fair is written for Grade 3 to Grade 5, typically ages 40-41. It is one of the sheets on 3-5-ETS1-3, so it suits any student working at that standard — including older students revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Keeping the Test Fair come with an answer key?
Yes. All 8 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of Keeping the Test Fair can I print?
25 — one per student, and all 25 ask different questions. Set 1 downloads the whole class as a single PDF. Every version is fixed to its own address, so a sheet printed today holds the same problems when you reopen it next week.
Is Keeping the Test Fair free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Keeping the Test Fair, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.
Is there a lesson plan to teach 3-5-ETS1-3?
Yes — “Keeping the Test Fair” is a 55-minute Grade 3 to Grade 5 plan for 3-5-ETS1-3, timed section by section, with the misconceptions to expect and an exit ticket. Keeping the Test Fair is the practice that follows it.
More practice for 3-5-ETS1-3
Run fair tests, controlling the variables, to find what to improve.
Teaching this next? Keeping the Test Fair is the 55-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.