Student test scores show U.S. science deficiency

01-25-2011

By Stephanie Banchero/Wall Street Journal

Less than one-third of U.S. elementary- and high-school students have a solid grasp of science, according to national test scores released Tuesday. The results from the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, are likely to reinvigorate the national debate over America's future competitiveness in science and technology. Scores from a recent international science exam showed U.S. students trailing their counterparts in many European and Asian countries. Teachers and education-advocacy groups offered several explanations for the dismal scores on the exam given to students in fourth, eighth and twelfth grade. Reasons included shortages of qualified science educators and of advanced science classes in low-income and rural schools. Many blamed the lackluster showing on No Child Left Behind, the 2001 federal law that requires schools to test students in math and reading, but not science. These critics contend schools narrowed their focus to comply with the law. (more…)

Also: Education Week

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Student test scores show U.S. science deficiency

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