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Study Shows Most California Fifth-Graders Lag Behind in Science

Posted on: Tuesday, 17 August 2004, 06:00 CDT

Aug. 17--Educators say "tricky' test questions and the state's lack of support for teachers are among some reasons the standardized test scores released Monday show that most California fifth-graders are falling behind in science.

Tom Dreyer, who taught fifth grade at Ridgeview Elementary School in Yucaipa last year, said he found the science questions on the test "troubling and frustrating."

"The questions are either poorly written or not straightforward in the way they address the standards," Dreyer said. "A lot of the questions are tricky. I don't mind having standards but don't cheat my kids out of a right answer.'

Under federal mandates, the state is required to test students for proficiency in science three times once each at the elementary, middle and high school levels.

California's fifth-graders tested in the subject for the first time in the spring. Although fourth grade is considered a benchmark grade for most school districts, fifth grade is usually the last level of elementary school, which is one of the reasons those students are tested.

Little more than one-fifth of 479,845 students statewide scored at the desired "proficient' level in science on the California Standards Test, results released by the Department of Education show. The majority, 41 percent, scored at the "basic' level and a quarter of the students scored "below basic."

Of the 32,939 San Bernardino County students tested in science, only 16 percent scored as "proficient," 43 percent scored at the "basic' level and 28 percent scored "below basic."

State officials, however, say the results are as expected and scores are likely to rise next year.

"This is not inconsistent with what happened with English-language arts and math in the first year the test was given," said Linda Lownes, lead consultant for the STAR program with the Department of Education's standards and assessment division.

As for the "tricky' questions, state officials said that every question is written to assess at least one standard, state officials said.

"The questions are actually written and verified at several levels to make sure what the test is asking for is what the student is expected to learn," Lownes said.

Teachers also are concerned about the lack of preparatory materials for the science test. Dreyer said Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified did not have science books that addressed the state standards.

As a result, he said he ended up spending a lot of his own time and money to put together a hands-on science program without books for his class.

"The state raises standards but the training and the support are left up to the school districts and, lots of times, up to the individual teacher," he said. "Teaching standards is great, but when we aren't given the support that should go along with it, that's really unfair to kids."

Dreyer, who runs an annual district teacher inservice, said this year he will help fourth- and fifth-grade teachers develop more ideas for hands-on projects that are key to helping students learn the standards.

Because conceptual and abstract thinking skills are beginning to develop at those levels, even simple experiments such as: "Is my dog colorblind? Does he prefer eating from a red bowl over a green bowl?' can help students learn scientific concepts, Dreyer said.

Such learning tools are effective in fifth grade because those students are cognitively ready to reason and explore science concepts, said Denise Green, a fifth-grade teacher at Terrace View Elementary in Colton.

Her students are studying plant life and are growing their own plants in the classroom as part of the science curriculum.

"I always try to make the curriculum as real for them as possible and make it something that they can actually get their hands on and understand why they are learning those specific ideas," Green said. "If you just talk about plants and how they grow, then it doesn't really stick. But when they see it in progress like watching the seeds grow they get excited. And the more excited they are, the more they learn.'

Science tests for grades eight and 10 will be in place in 2006, Lownes said. State officials will be "field testing' a limited sampling of science questions in those grades next spring.

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