Students should be able to develop and articulate a testable, falsifiable hypothesis that makes predictions that their research will address. They should be able to identify what they will measure to support or disprove their hypothesis.
Rubric for Hypothesis Development
What is a good hypothesis?
A scientific approach often depends on a good hypothesis, and in developing ideas for a research project it is well worth considering the attributes of a good hypothesis, and thinking about what it takes to both develop and present a good hypothesis driven research project. It is also worth remembering that it is very difficult to prove a hypothesis correct: science is usually based upon eliminating reasonable alternatives - you can prove a hypothesis wrong, or you can collect evidence that is consistent with the hypothesis.
A good hypothesis is:
Based upon prior observations
These can be your own preliminary results or they can be others work found in the literature, or often a combination of both- to develop a good hypothesis you need to find out what is already known.
Is original
If the answer to your question is known (ie is already in the scientific literature) it is not original research. You can make a hypothesis that further develops others ideas, but if the answer is known, it is not a hypothesis.
Is testable
Whatever hypothesis you make it must have predictions as to results you will get in experiments in support of the hypothesis
Is Falsifiable
The predictions you can make based upon your hypothesis must give rise to experiments where the outcome can “falsify” (disprove) your hypothesis