The latest standardized test results show that West Virginia students are still below average in science.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) report card for eighth grade students gave West Virginia a score of 149 out of a possible 300; that’s two points below the national average and lower than all five neighboring states.
There was, however, a little good news. West Virginia was one of 16 states that showed improvement from 2009 to 2011. Our science test scores increased from 145 to 149, or about three percent.
But overall, the NAEP numbers are disturbing.
For example, 37 percent of eighth graders were “below basic” in their knowledge of science and 39 percent were just “basic.” Twenty-four percent were “proficient” while one percent was “advanced.”
Gerry Wheeler, interim executive director of the National Science Teachers Association, says basic or below–76 percent of eighth graders in West Virginia—is not good enough for the knowledge-based economy.
“If we’re going to have a scientifically literate workforce in 10 to 15 years, we’re going to have to do a lot more,” Wheeler said on Metronews Talkline Wednesday.
Nationally, the numbers are not much better.
On average, 70 percent of eighth graders are at or below the basic level, while only 29 percent are proficient. True, the average score increased from 150 in 2009 to 152 in 2011, but Wheeler calls the slight improvement insignificant.
“It’s like the kid has been flunking all year long and then all of a sudden they get a ‘D’ on the final—we’ll, they’ve still got the ‘D,’” Wheeler told U.S. News and World Report.
A global comparison shows the science knowledge deficit in the United States is significant. According to the most recent numbers from the Program for International Student Assessment, students in 12 countries have higher science scores than their counterparts in the United States.
“It’s scary,” Wheeler says. “We’re not doing anything different and we’re expecting different results.”
Starting next year, public schools will implement new science standards aimed at improving students’ skills, particularly in areas of technology and engineering. Wheeler says teachers will have to have more professional development to be successful.
West Virginia and the rest of the country must do better. As the late management theorist Peter Drucker said, “knowledge worker productivity” is the new frontier. The basis for that skill set starts well before college, in elementary and middle school.
As the latest NAEP test results show, this new frontier may turn out to be a destination many young people cannot reach.