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For Immediate Release
May 24, 2006

Contact: Charles Pyle
Director of Communications
(804) 371-2420
Julie Grimes
Public Information Officer
(804) 225-2775

Virginia Students Lead the Nation in Science Achievement
Strong Performance of Virginia Fourth-Graders and Eighth-Graders on "Nation's Report Card" Bucks National Trend

Virginia students achieved at significantly higher levels on last year’s national science tests, bucking a national trend of flat or declining achievement since the previous administration of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) science tests in 2000. State education officials pointed to the commonwealth’s Standards of Learning (SOL) program, which includes accountability for effective instruction in science, as a key factor in why Virginia students demonstrated gains in science achievement on the 2005 tests while most states saw declines or no improvement.

Virginia was one of only five states that saw significant increases in overall science achievement in both grades 4 and 8 on the 2005 NAEP. And the commonwealth was the only state in the nation in which students in both tested grades increased their level of achievement on all three subcomponents of the test (Earth Science, Physical Science, and Life Science).

“ Virginia’s 11-year old SOL accountability program requires high student achievement in all subject areas, including science,” said Patricia I. Wright, acting superintendent of public instruction. “These results show that the commonwealth’s schools are not sacrificing or shortchanging science instruction to meet federal benchmarks for reading and mathematics under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.”

Virginia fourth-graders led the nation with an average score of 161 in 2005, a 6-point increase over 2000’s average score of 155. Students in no other state achieved at a statistically higher level on the grade-4 test, although fourth-graders in New Hampshire also achieved an average score of 161. The average national grade-4 science score for 2005 was 149; 12 points lower than the average for Virginia and 4 points above the national average for 2000.

Virginia had the highest achieving girls in the nation on the grade-4 science test with an average score of 160. New Hampshire’s fourth-grade girls ranked second, with an average score of 159. The commonwealth’s fourth-grade boys achieved an average score of 162 on the 2005 test, 1 point below New Hampshire, which had the highest average score for fourth-grade boys.

“Science teachers in Virginia are not allowing gender to act as a barrier as they help young people understand science,” said Dr. Wright.

Virginia eighth-graders achieved an average score of 155 in 2005, a 4-point increase over 2000’s average science score of 151. In contrast, the national average score for grade 8 slipped from 148 in 2000 to 147 in 2005.

Forty percent of Virginia fourth-graders met or exceeded the rigorous NAEP standard for science proficiency, compared with 32 percent five years earlier. Eighty percent demonstrated at least basic knowledge of science on the NAEP, compared with 72 percent in 2000. Nationwide, 27 percent of fourth-graders met or exceeded the standard for proficiency, and 66 percent demonstrated basic knowledge or better.

Thirty-five percent of Virginia students in grade 8 met or exceeded the NAEP standard for proficiency, compared with 29 percent five years earlier. Sixty-six percent demonstrated at least basic proficiency in science on the NAEP, compared with 61 percent in 2000. Nationwide, 27 percent of eighth-graders met or exceeded the standard for proficiency, and 57 percent demonstrated basic knowledge or better.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) considers the improvements of the average scores of Virginia students at both grade levels as statistically significant. NCES also views the increases in the percentages of students in meeting the NAEP standards for basic knowledge and full proficiency as statistically significant.

“The achievement of Virginia students in science parallels their success on the 2005 national reading and mathematics tests,” said Dr. Wright. “When children develop strong reading and mathematical skills, they are ready for success across the curriculum.”

NAEP Science Mean Scores, 1996 – 2005: All Students

	1996	2000	2005
Grade 4
Virginia	No State Test	155	161
Nation	148	145	149
Grade 8
Virginia	149	151	155
Nation	148	148	147

NAEP Science Proficiency Levels, 1996 – 2005: All Students

	1996			2000		2005
	Basic and Above	Proficient and Above		Basic and Above	Proficient and Above	Basic and Above	Proficient and Above
Grade 4
Virginia	No State Test			72	32 (3)	80	40 (5)
Nation	65		27 (3)	61	26 (3)	66	27 (2)
Grade 8
Virginia	59	27 (2)		61	29 (3)	66	35 (4)
Nation	60	27 (3)		57	29 (4)	57	27 (3)

() – Percentage of students demonstrating Advanced Proficiency

Black and Hispanic students in Virginia outperformed their peers nationwide in both grade levels in 2005 and achieved higher average scores than in 2000. The percentages of African-American and Hispanic students demonstrating basic science knowledge and meeting the NAEP standard for proficiency also increased. Black eighth-graders and Hispanic fourth-graders made especially noteworthy and statistically significant gains in science achievement on the 2005 NAEP.

Black fourth-graders in the commonwealth achieved an average score of 140 in 2005, which was the highest grade-4 score for African-American students in the nation, and marked a 3-point increase over 2000’s average of 137. The average national grade-4 science score for black students in 2005 was 128, 7 points higher than 2000’s national average of 121.

NAEP Science Mean Scores, 1996 – 2005: Black Students

	1996	2000	2005
Grade 4
Virginia	No State Test	137	140
Nation	121	121	128
Grade 8
Virginia	126	130	133
Nation	119	120	123

Fifty-three percent of the tested Virginia African-American students in grade 4 demonstrated at least basic knowledge of science on the NAEP, compared with 49 percent in 2000. Twelve percent met or exceeded the NAEP standard for full science proficiency, compared with 10 percent five years earlier. Nationwide, 7 percent of black fourth-graders met or exceeded the standard for proficiency, and 38 percent demonstrated basic knowledge or better in 2005.

The average score for African-American eighth-graders in Virginia was the fifth highest in the nation and in no state did black students perform at a significantly higher level on the 2005 grade-8 science test. Black eighth-graders in the commonwealth achieved an average score of 133 in 2005, which was a 3-point increase over 2000’s average score of 130, and a statistically significant 7-point increase over the average for 1996. The average national grade-8 science score for black students was 123, 3 points higher than 2000’s national average of 120.

NAEP Science Proficiency Levels, 1996 – 2005: Black Students

	1996			2000		2005
	Basic and Above	Proficient and Above		Basic and Above	Proficient and Above	Basic and Above	Proficient and Above
Grade 4
Virginia	No State Test			49	10	53	12
Nation	31		5	30	6	38	7
Grade 8
Virginia	27	6		33	9	37	10
Nation	22	4		24	6	27	7

Thirty-seven percent of the tested Virginia African-American students in grade 8 demonstrated at least basic knowledge of science on the NAEP, compared with 33 percent in 2000, and 27 percent in 1996. The 10-point increase since 1996 of the percentage of African-American eighth-graders demonstrating basic knowledge or better in science is regarded as a statistically significant growth in achievement.

Ten percent of Virginia black students in grade 8 met or exceeded the standard for science proficiency, compared with 9 percent five years earlier. Nationwide, 7 percent of eighth-graders met or exceeded the standard for proficiency, and 27 percent demonstrated basic knowledge or better in 2005.

Hispanic students in Virginia narrowed the achievement gap with white students in both grades, even though white students in the commonwealth achieved the highest grade-4 science score for their subgroup in the nation and the fifth highest for whites in grade 8. Hispanic students in grade 4 reduced the achievement gap by 8 points, from 27 points in 2000, to 19 points in 2005, even though the average fourth-grade score for white students increased from 164 to 170. The achievement gap between Hispanic and white students shrank by 2 points on the 2005 grade-8 science test even though white eighth-graders raised their average score 7 points, to 165.

Hispanic fourth-graders in the commonwealth achieved an average score of 151 in 2005, which was the highest in the nation for Hispanic students in grade 4, and represented a 14-point increase over 2000’s average of 137. The average national grade-4 science score for Hispanic students was 132, 11 points higher than 2000’s national average of 121.

NAEP Science Mean Scores, 1996 – 2005: Hispanic Students

	1996	2000	2005
Grade 4
Virginia	No State Test	137	151
Nation	125	121	132
Grade 8
Virginia	Too Small	133	141
Nation	128	125	127

Seventy-one percent of the tested Virginia Hispanic students in grade 4 demonstrated at least basic knowledge or better on the NAEP, compared with 51 percent in 2000; 22 percent met or exceeded the standard for full proficiency, compared with 15 percent five years earlier. Nationwide, 10 percent of fourth-graders met or exceeded the standard for proficiency, and 44 percent demonstrated basic knowledge or better in 2005.

NAEP Science Proficiency Levels, 1996 – 2005: Hispanic Students

	1996			2000		2005
	Basic and Above	Proficient and Above		Basic and Above	Proficient and Above	Basic and Above	Proficient and Above
Grade 4
Virginia	No State Test			51	15	71	22 (1)
Nation	38		8	33	7	44	10
Grade 8
Virginia	Too Small			38	12	51	22 (2)
Nation	35	10		31	9 (1)	33	10

() – Percentage of students demonstrating Advanced Proficiency

Hispanic eighth-graders in the commonwealth also were among the highest scoring students in their subgroup in the nation. The commonwealth’s Hispanic eighth-grade students achieved an average score of 141 in 2005, which was the fifth highest in the nation for Hispanic students on the grade-8 test, and represented an 8-point increase over 2000’s average score of 133. The average national grade-8 science score for Hispanic students was 127, 2 points higher than 2000’s national average of 125.

Fifty-one percent of the tested Virginia Hispanic students in grade 8 demonstrated at least basic knowledge of science on the NAEP, compared with 38 percent in 2000. Twenty-two percent met or exceeded the standard for science proficiency, compared with 12 percent five years earlier. Nationwide, 10 percent of eighth-graders met or exceeded the standard for proficiency, and 33 percent demonstrated basic knowledge or better in 2005.

“African-American and Hispanic students in Virginia are doing well in science compared with their peers nationwide but much work remains to be done to further narrow, and ultimately close the achievement gap,” said Dr. Wright. “We must maintain high expectations for all students and insist on accountability for the education of every child.”

NAEP, also known as “The Nation’s Report Card,” is the only nationally representative assessment of what American students know and can do in various subject areas. The 2005 NAEP sampling of Virginia students included 2,778 fourth-grade students from 127 elementary schools and 2,695 eighth graders from 105 middle and other secondary schools.

Approximately 14 percent of the tested students in grade 4, and 11 percent of the students tested in grade 8 were students with disabilities. Participating students with disabilities were tested under standard conditions, or with accommodations permitted by NAEP. Students whose Individualized Education Programs require testing accommodations that are not allowed under NAEP were excluded from testing. Approximately 3 percent of the students initially identified for testing in Virginia and nationwide were excluded at both grade levels for this reason.

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