The report also showed Arizona eighth-grade students posting a six point increase over the period – but again being mired near the bottom of states, finishing sixth-lowest in science scores for that grade. Connecticut, which used to rank among the best states in science scores, has fallen to the middle of the pack as other states have improved.
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“I’m a little biased, but I think the eyes of the nation are rightfully on Tennessee students and teachers”, said Gov. Bill Haslam.
In Nebraska and Iowa, about 1 in 6 fourth-graders and 1 in 4 eighth-graders scored below basic.
But while in 2013 Tennessee was listed as a “bright spot” on the math and reading test, the state saw student scores remain flat on the 2015 NAEP math and reading assessment.
The new report comes just a few days after Alabama’s new State School Superintendent said we are confronting a K-12 math crisis.
NAEP did not release California scores for 12th graders.
In Iowa, 42 percent of fourth-graders and 38 percent of eighth-graders were proficient or better – ranking 13th and 14th among the states, respectively.
The National Assessment Governing Board and NCES announced the results at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. My guess is people are simply focusing a little more on science than they were in 2009, driven by their personal feeling that grasping science is important, and will be increasingly so as the economy evolves. “We don’t interpret this as being grade level”. A score of 170 is considered proficient.
Gaps between African-American students and their white peers have been narrowing among students in the 4th and 8th grades, according to the latest NAEP results.
New Jersey’s fourth- and eighth-graders each scored two points higher than the nationwide average for public schools. In 2015, that span narrowed to 33 points. New Hampshire eighth-graders were second at 165 and Vermont third at 163. “Gender gaps also are closing”, said King.
Minority students also are advancing.
In 2015, West Virginia had 31 percent of public school fourth graders score “proficient” or higher on NAEP’s science portion.
On average, national achievement gaps narrowed with improved scores among black and Latino students. The national assessment allows for state-by-state comparisons, and policymakers can use it as an informal check on their states’ student testing programs.
The standardized tests ― sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and administered by the National Center for Education Statistics ― are meant to measure how groups of students are performing against each other. That’s down from a 5-point gap in 2011. This percentage was significantly greater than that in 2009 (27 percent).
“It’s more fun and interesting for me, for the teacher, because you get to see the excitement of the students and they get to see the real life applications of what it is that they’re doing”, said fourth grade science teacher Cynthia Thornburg.
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Brenda Cassellius, state education commissioner, was pleased to see Minnesota students continue to outdo the national averages, but she admitted there was much more work ahead to close the state’s notorious academic achievement gap.
