1996 Science Performance Standards Highlights

				Since 1969, NAEP’s mission has been to survey samples of school-age children and report on their academic performance in various school subjects. For more than 25 years, NAEP has collected and reported information about student achievement in mathematics, science, reading, U.S. history, world geography, and other subjects. NAEP is the nation’s only continuing indicator of what America’s students know and can do. This national treasure, as it has been called, is a valuable source of information to the American public, policymakers, business leaders, and educators alike. The NAEP 1996 science results are important because they provide baseline information for marking progress toward the fourth National Education Goal: "American students shall be first in the world in mathematics and science by the year 2000." The national results presented in this report describe the achievement of students in grades 4, 8, and 12 in terms of the student performance standards adopted by the National Assessment Governing Board. State results also are presented for the 44 jurisdictions that participated voluntarily in the grade 8 state assessment and that met the guidelines for participation. The 1996 Student Achievement Levels The achievement levels adopted by the Board consist of three components: Content descriptions of what students know and can do at each level Cut points (scores) on the NAEP 0-to-300 science scale that define the levels in terms of student performance on the NAEP survey Exemplar questions and student answers that are typical of student performances at the Basic, Proficient, and Advanced levels Chapter 1 describes each component in detail and provides many examples of student work at each achievement level. Major Findings for the Nation and Student Subgroups The NAEP 1996 Assessment gathered detailed information about the science knowledge of the nation’s fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-grade students. Specifically, 3 percent of the nation’s students reached the Advanced level at all three grade levels. Twenty-six percent of fourth- and eighth-grade students and 18 percent of the twelfth-grade students performed within the Proficient level, while 38 percent, 32 percent, and 36 percent performed within the Basic level for grades 4, 8, and 12, respectively (see Figure H.1). Nationally, percentages of males and females reaching the three achievement levels were the same at grade 8. However, at grade 4, greater percentages of males than females were at or above the Proficient level, while at grade 12 males performed better than females at all three levels -- Basic, Proficient, and Advanced. There were differences in attainment of the achievement levels by various racial/ethnic groups at all three grade levels. The gap between Whites and Blacks and Whites and Hispanics was evident at grades 4 and 8 at the Basic and Proficient levels. At grade 12, differences were observed between Whites and Hispanics at the Advanced level and between Whites and Blacks, and between Whites and Hispanics at the Basic and Proficient levels. At all three grades, higher levels of parental education were associated with higher achievement level attainment. Finally, on average, students in Title I programs and those eligible for the free or reduced-price lunch program attained lower achievement levels than those not participating in those programs. Major Findings for the States/Jurisdictions and Student Subgroups This report presents findings for 44 of the 47 participating jurisdictions in the 1996 state assessment program in grade 8 (3 states did not meet the participation guidelines for reporting their data). Figure H.2 shows the states in which grade 8 students participated in the 1996 Science Assessment according to the states’ results in reaching the Proficient level. Sixteen jurisdictions, including the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (Overseas) and 15 states, had higher percentages of public school students at or above the Proficient level than the nation. Seventeen jurisdictions, including Guam, the District of Columbia and 15 states, had lower percentages of students at or above the Proficient level than the nation. The remaining 11 jurisdictions, including the Department of Defense Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools and 10 states, had percentages of students at or above the Proficient level which were not significantly different from that of the nation. On average, differences between males and females were observed in about 20 percent of the jurisdictions. This pattern was particularly evident at the Proficient level, with 28 percent of the jurisdictions showing more males than females at or above the Proficient level. As in the national data, the data for many states showed gaps in percentages attaining the levels between Whites and Blacks and between Whites and Hispanics. Similarly, higher levels of parental education were generally associated with higher performance. The highest percentages of students achieving at or above the Proficient level were observed among those reporting that their parents had graduated from college. Of the 19 states reporting nonpublic school achievement, about 60 percent showed higher percentages of students reaching the Basic level than grade 8 public schools, while 21 percent showed similar differences at the Proficient level. At the Basic and Proficient levels, lower percentages of students were observed for those students participating in Title I programs or eligible for the free or reduced-price lunch programs than those not in, or eligible for, such programs.