Science Scores for U.S. 4th-Graders Rise

Scores on science tests improved for U.S. elementary school students in the last decade but declined for high school students, a national group says.

The so-called Nation’s Report Card is prepared by the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which is independent of the U.S. Department of Education. The group issued its report on 2005 science achievement Wednesday.

Science scores for fourth-graders were higher in 2005 than in both 2000 and 1996, when previous science assessments were conducted. However, there was no overall improvement among eighth-graders and average scores in grade 12 have decreased since 1996.

The 2005 results from The Nation’s Report Card for math and reading, released last October, showed similar trends, NAEP said.

Policymakers and industry representatives are concerned about national competitiveness in an increasingly technical world, Darvin M. Winick, chairman of the National Assessment Governing Board, the bipartisan group that sets policy for NAEP, said in a release. The lackluster achievement of our older students in science, as in math and reading, appears to confirm those concerns.