TASC Student Directed Inquiry case studies
TASC Student Directed Inquiry · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The TASC Student Directed Inquiry (SDI) is a constructed-response component of the Test Assessing Secondary Completion in which you design, carry out, and present your own investigation rather than answer selected-response items. It suits candidates completing a high school equivalency pathway who can work independently over an extended period: you choose a question worth pursuing, gather and evaluate sources, plan a method, collect and analyze data, build an evidence-based argument, and communicate findings in writing and, typically, a short presentation. The TASC Student Directed Inquiry case studies are 5 cases and about 3,119 words.
1The Vending Machine Survey
A student council wants to know whether to replace the school's two vending machines with healthier options. A council member proposes the inquiry question: "Should we get rid of the vending machines?" The advisor notes that this question can be answered yes or no without gathering any evidence, and that it bundles several separate issues together: nutrition, cost, student satisfaction, and revenue for the school.
603 words, about 3 min2The Sleep and Grades Article
A student is researching whether later school start times improve academic performance. She finds four sources.
648 words, about 3 min3The Cafeteria Waste Audit
A team wants to measure how much food students throw away at lunch. They plan to weigh cafeteria waste for five school days.
639 words, about 3 min4The Tutoring Program Comparison
A student evaluates a peer tutoring program. Twenty volunteers were assigned to tutor 40 struggling students.
626 words, about 3 min5The Cell Phone and Focus Presentation
A student investigated whether phone use during study affects focus. She surveyed 60 classmates, found that students who reported more phone use also reported lower focus, and wrote a conclusion: "Phone use destroys students' ability to focus." Her presentation includes a bar chart with no axis labels, a correlation of r = −0.42, and one quoted student saying "I can't focus at all anymore." A reviewer raises three issues: the conclusion overstates the evidence, the chart is unclear, and the quote may be doing rhetorical work that the data cannot support.
603 words, about 3 min