The good news about students' improving performance in a range of academic subjects doesn't extend to science, according to results of the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Also known as "the nation's report card," the NAEP science 2000 results released in November showed that the average scores of fourth- and eighth-graders were basically unchanged from the last assessment in 1996, while the 12th-graders' scores actually declined.

In addition to numerical scores, NAEP also reports the number of students reaching basic, proficient or advanced achievement levels. While about two-thirds of U.S. students have a basic understanding of science, the scores show much lower levels reaching the proficient level: 29 percent of fourth-graders, 32 percent of eighth-graders and 18 percent of 12th-graders.

Secretary of Education Rod Paige expressed particular concern about the downward trend as students move through high school. "If our graduates know less about science than their predecessors four years ago, then our hopes for a strong 21st-century work force are dimming just when we need them most," he said.

NAEP also includes information on course taking, television viewing habits, and teacher qualifications as well as the relationship among these factors and student performance. Some of those results are noteworthy, if not especially surprising. For example, eighth-graders whose teachers majored in science scored higher than students whose teachers lacked a science major. (No teacher data were collected for 12th grade because many students don't take science in their senior year.) In addition, students who took tougher courses, such as biology, chemistry and physics, outscored their peers in general science or life science classes. And prolonged TV viewing (six hours or more per school day) was associated with lower test scores.

In the press conference announcing the science results, Secretary Paige highlighted the impressive performance of students in Department of Defense (DOD) schools, at home and abroad. (The AFT represents many teachers in DOD's overseas schools.) DOD students are a diverse group--40 percent are minority, 50 percent receive free or reduced-price lunch, 80 percent have parents who didn't attend college--yet they scored higher than students in all but one state at the eighth-grade level and improved significantly from the last assessment. Paige's explanation for the DOD success echoes some of what the AFT has been advocating for all schools for a long time. "The answer is startlingly simple and familiar," Paige said, "they set high standards, they demand accountability, and they encourage parental involvement."

More information on "The Nation's Report Card: Science 2000," including the full report, is available online at www.ed.gov.

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