The Nation's Report Card: Science 2011 (NCES 2012-465)

A national sample of 122,000 eighth-graders participated in the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in science. Students responded to questions designed to measure their knowledge and abilities in the areas of physical science, life science, and Earth and space sciences. Performance results are presented in the form of NAEP scale scores and percentages of students at the Basic, Proficient, and Advanced achievement levels at both the national and state levels. The report also includes information about the performance of different student groups and gap comparisons by gender and race/ethnicity. Comparisons are made between 2011 results and those from the previous assessment in 2009.