Common Core LiteracyGrades 11–12Science & Technical

RST.11-12.7: Solving a Problem with Data, Video and Simulation

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.7 · Cluster: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas.

The Official Wording

Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., quantitative data, video, multimedia) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

Common Core State Standards, Grades 11-12, Reading: Science & Technical Subjects · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What RST.11-12.7 Means in Plain English

Juniors and seniors combine data tables, video, simulations and text to answer a science question or solve a technical problem, and judge what each source can be trusted to show. A school whose solar panels underperform needs a data table, a time-lapse video, a spec sheet and a simulation.

Ninth and tenth grade (RST.9-10.7) translated between words and visuals, turning a paragraph into a chart or an equation into a sentence. Grades 11-12 use many formats at once to solve a problem. This is the last band of the line, the reading college and career readiness depends on.

RST.11-12.7 I Can Statements

I can pull the key information from data, video and simulations.
I can use one source to rule out an explanation from another.
I can combine several formats into one solution with stated limits.

RST.11-12.7 Worked Example

The school, its numbers and its sources are invented for this page. Each source rules out or explains one piece, and only the strong answer uses all four.

Read the Story

The problem: A high school’s new rooftop solar array produced 12 percent less electricity than forecast in its first year. Before the school pays for a second array, the facilities director wants to know why, and what to change.Source A, a table of monthly output against forecast: April to September, within 4 percent of forecast; November to February, 35 to 50 percent below forecast. In those winter months the west half of the array produced barely a quarter of what the east half did, while in summer the two halves matched.Source B, a time-lapse video from a roof camera on a clear day in mid-December: by 1 p.m. the shadow of the new three-story science wing reaches the west rows of panels, and by 3 p.m. it covers all of them.Source C, the panel spec sheet: output drops 0.35 percent for each degree Celsius the panel runs above 25 °C. Panels are wired in strings of 12, and shade on one panel can cut the output of its whole string unless each panel has its own optimizer.Source D, an interactive sun-path simulation set to the school’s location: in December the noon sun stands 25 degrees above the horizon and the science wing’s afternoon shadow stretches across the west half of the roof; dragged to June, the sun reaches 72 degrees and the shadow never touches the roof.

A short passage written for this page.

Question: What is causing the shortfall, and what should the school do before it builds a second array? Use all four sources and say what each can and cannot show.

Not Yet“Solar panels make less power in winter because the days are shorter, and the spec sheet shows that heat lowers output too, so the array is just affected by the weather. The school should buy higher-efficiency panels for the second array.”It explains the shortfall from general knowledge instead of the sources. The forecast already expects shorter winter days, the table shows summer heat barely mattered, and the video and simulation, which reveal the real cause, are never used.

Meets the Standard“The cause is winter shade on the west half. The table rules out weather: the hot summer months came within 4 percent of forecast, and the winter shortfall is measured against a forecast that already expects shorter days. It also locates the loss, since the west half fell to a quarter of the east half’s output. The video shows why, with the science wing’s shadow crossing the west rows by early afternoon, and the simulation explains the season: with the winter sun low, the shadow reaches the roof, while in June it never does. The spec sheet explains the size of the loss, since shade on one panel can drag down a string of 12. The school should add optimizers to the west strings and use the simulation to place the second array clear of winter shadow. The video records one day, so a clear January day should be filmed before anything is bought.”It uses each source for what it shows best, data to rule out weather and locate the loss, video to show the cause, simulation to explain the season and spec sheet to explain the size, then turns them into a fix with its limits stated.

Question Stems to Use

Which source rules out an explanation, and which one points to the cause?What does the video show that the table could only hint at?How does the simulation explain when the problem happens?Which number on the spec sheet matters here, and which one is a distraction?What does each source leave out, and how would you fill that gap?

Common Mistakes with RST.11-12.7

Explaining the season instead of the shortfall

“Solar panels make less power in winter because the days are shorter.”

Try this: Point out that the forecast already expects less winter sun, and have students explain only the gap between forecast and actual output.

Skipping the video and the simulation

An answer built entirely from the table and the spec sheet, the two sources with numbers

Try this: Have students write one sentence per source on what only it can show, and require that sentence for the video and simulation.

Grabbing the most technical number

“The spec sheet says heat cuts output 0.35 percent per degree, so heat is the problem.”

Try this: Ask students to test each number against the data: if heat were the cause, which months would fall short, and did they?

Where RST.11-12.7 Fits

Comes BeforeRST.9-10.7Translate technical information between words, tables, charts and equations.

AlongsideRI.11-12.7Integrate sources in different media to address a question or solve a problem.RH.11-12.7Integrate visual, numerical and written sources to address a question in history.

Comes NextRST.11-12.9Synthesize readings, experiments and simulations into one coherent explanation.WHST.11-12.7Conduct a research project that synthesizes several sources to solve a problem.

Practice RST.11-12.7

Quick Check

Why can’t summer heat explain the shortfall?
The hottest months came within 4 percent of forecast; the losses came in winter.
Which source shows why the losses happen only in winter?
The sun-path simulation: with the winter sun low, the science wing’s shadow reaches the roof, while in June it never does.
Why does shade on a few panels cut output so much?
The spec sheet says shade on one panel can cut the output of its whole string of 12, unless each panel has an optimizer.

RST.11-12.7: Other Names

RST.11-12.7CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.7