Students score better on ‘nation’s report card’ in ’15

Fourth- and eighth-graders post gains on science tests

Florida’s fourth- and eighth-grade students boosted their showing on science tests taken as part of “the nation’s report card,” posting strong gains in 2015 after a lackluster performance six years ago, according to results released today.

The state’s fourth graders beat the national average and eighth graders kept pace with it, both improvements from 2009. That year’s science test release prompted then education commissioner to lament, “We have significant ground to capture.”

Florida followed the national trend on the most recent test, as scores for the nation’s fourth and eighth graders also moved up in 2015 compared with 2009. That was the last time students at both grade levels took the National Assessment of Education Progress, or NAEP, science exams.

“We’re very pleased,” said Mary Jane Tappen, vice chancellor of K-12 education at the Florida Department of Education. “We would hope to see that this trend makes it to high school and that we

see more and more kids being successful.”

Tappen said better academic standards established since 2009 — in both science and language arts — likely contributed to the better showing on tests. The two sets of standards worked in tandem to boost students’ science knowledge and their ability to analyze information, she said.

State educators also were pleased that Florida’s black and Hispanic students, who traditionally have lagged on the exams, made large gains, narrowing the socalled achievement gap. Florida was ranked first out of 43 states based on the science scores of Hispanic fourth graders, Tappen added.

The NAEP results prompted praise from national educators, too, who said they hoped the scores mean more students will be on track to pursue careers in science and urged continued investments in science education.

Science classes “aren’t luxuries,” but necessary to get youngsters “ready for the world of both today and tomorrow,” said U.S. Secretary of Education John King. “We need more of our children on track to succeed in that world.”

NAEP includes tests in math, reading, science and U.S. history, among other topics. In science, the tests measures knowledge of earth and space science, life science and physical science.

NAEP exams are given to a sampling of students nationwide in grades 4, 8 and 12. Typically, there are no scores for school districts, schools or students. But the results aim to show how American youngsters as a whole and in the individual states are doing over time in key academic subjects.

Despite improvements, nationwide “there’s still much progress to be made,” said Peggy Carr, acting commissioner for the National Center for Education Statistics, discussing the results with reporters.

Plenty of students, for example, tested at below a “basic” level on the science tests — including 34 percent of Florida’s eighth graders — meaning they did not show even partial mastery of required knowledge.

And the nation’s 12th graders showed no improvement from 2009 to 2015. The 12th grade exam provided only national results, so there were no separate marks for high school seniors in Florida or the other 45 states that took part in NAEP science last year.

Florida’s fourth graders, however, outscored the nation in 2015, with 42 percent earning “proficient” or better marks, compared with 38 percent nationally. The proficient standard is a tough one, as it means students have shown “solid academic performance” with “challenging subject matter.” The state’s 2015 fourthgrade score was a 10 percentage point increase from 2009, when 32 percent met the proficient benchmark, about the same as publicschool students nationwide.

More than 80 percent of Florida’s fourth graders showed at least a basic level of science knowledge in 2015, and the percentage scoring below basic fell to 19 percent, down from 25 percent in 2009.

Florida eighth-grade scores also jumped from 2009. Thirty three percent met the proficient benchmark to attain the national rate, up from 25 percent six years earlier. The percentage below the basic level was 34 percent, down from 43 percent in 2009.

Paul Cottle, a physics professor at Florida State University and advocate for improved science education, said credit for the elementary and middle school gains lies partly with better science standards. But teacher training that helped instructors learn the standards and improve their science lessons was key. Those efforts must now be pushed in Florida’s high schools too, he said.

“This is a big win for Florida’s students, and the state’s science teachers and education leaders should be congratulated,” he said in an email.

But to “open new career opportunities” for its students in science, technology, engineering and math — often called the STEM fields — Florida needs to “improve secondary math instruction and shore up the state's high school science program,” Cottle said.