Question

mischa is researching school garden programs. she wants to better understand how widespread school garden programs are today. which research question is best for her to ask?

a. when was the first school garden program started?
b. why were school garden programs started in the first place?
c. how many schools currently have school garden programs?
d. how many schools have tried school garden programs in the past?

Explanation:

Analyze the research goal

Using the Reading Purpose knowledge point, we first identify Mischa's specific objective. She wants to understand "how widespread school garden programs are today." This means she is looking for data regarding the current prevalence, scope, or quantity of these programs in the present day.

Evaluate the options against the goal

We test each proposed research question to see which one directly yields data about current widespread adoption:

• Option A ("When was the first school garden program started?") asks about historical origins (a specific point in the past), which does not measure modern prevalence.
• Option B ("Why were school garden programs started in the first place?") asks about historical motivations, which is unrelated to current numbers.
• Option C ("How many schools currently have school garden programs?") directly asks for the current quantity of active programs, which is the exact metric needed to determine how "widespread" they are "today."
• Option D ("How many schools have tried school garden programs in the past?") focuses on historical attempts rather than active modern status.

Select the best research question

Option C is the only question that aligns both temporally ("currently") and conceptually ("how many") with measuring how widespread the programs are today.

Answer:

• (A) When was the first school garden program started?
• (B) Why were school garden programs started in the first place?
• (C) How many schools currently have school garden programs? (Correct answer)
• (D) How many schools have tried school garden programs in the past?