Thursday, May 25, 2006
Younger black and Hispanic pupils have narrowed the gap with whites.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Elementary school children are getting better in science, but middle and high school pupils are not, a blow for a nation wary about losing its competitive edge.
Federal test scores released Wednesday indicate that fourth-grade pupils posted small gains over the past five years, mostly through improvement by the lowest-performing children.
The progress was interpreted by education officials as a sign that greater attention to elementary pupils' math and reading skills -- as demanded by the No Child Left Behind law -- may also be helping in science.
The test found pupils in grades eight and 12 failed to improve at all since 2000 in their knowledge of earth, physical and life sciences.
The high school seniors actually did worse in science when compared with scores of a decade ago. Almost half of the 12th-graders taking the test in 2005 fell short of showing basic science skills.
"We need to get busy. And that starts with ensuring that all students have access to a strong science curriculum and the teachers with the skills and knowledge to teach science well," said Kati Haycock, director of the Education Trust, which advocates for poor and minority children.
The science scores are from the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress, a federal test given periodically on a range of topics. It is considered the best yardstick of how U.S. pupils perform over time and of how states stack up against each other.
Narrowing the gap
In a positive step on a national priority, black and Hispanic pupils narrowed their achievement gaps with whites in fourth grade. So did poor pupils compared with richer ones.
That good news was limited. The racial and ethnic achievement gaps did not shrink in eighth grade, and the gap between blacks and whites only got bigger among 12th-graders.
Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said the results show why the No Child Left Behind law, which focuses on early and middle grades, should be expanded in high schools. The law requires testing in math and reading, with penalties for many schools that fail to improve.
State science testing under the law will begin in 2007-08, although schools will not face consequences for their performance -- something President Bush wants Congress to change.
Science skills have become critical in a huge range of blue-collar and white-collar jobs, and they form the foundation of engineering, technology, medicine and other leading fields.
Only 30 percent of 12th graders took biology, chemistry and physics during their high school years.
On the test, most pupils in each grade could not handle challenging subject matter.
At that skill level, known as proficient, a fourth-grade pupil can explain what can be learned from fossils. An eighth-grader can identify the location of a cell's genetic material, and a 12th-grader can design an experiment to compare various heating times.
Only 29 percent of pupils in grades four and eight scored proficient or better, and only 18 percent of 12th-graders did. Larger numbers showed basic skills.
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