This report presents results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2015 science assessment. The report includes national and state results on the performance of fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-grade students. Results are presented in terms of average scores and as percentages of students performing at or above the three NAEP achievement levels:
Basic, Proficient, and Advanced. In addition to overall scores, results are reported by race/ethnicity, gender, type of school, and other demographic groups. The 2015 trend in national average science scores showed increases at grades 4 and 8 since 2009 and at grade 8 since 2011. There was no significant change in the average science score for twelfth-grade students. Compared to 2009, scores in 2015 were higher at grades 4 and 8 in all three science content areas (physical science, life science, and Earth and space sciences), while there were no significant changes in content area scores at grade 12. Scores for most student groups at grades 4 and 8 were higher compared to 2009, but were not significantly different at grade 12. At grades 4 and 8, Black and Hispanic students made greater gains than White students, causing the achievement gap to narrow in comparison to 2009. In 2015, the gender score gap remained at grades 8 and 12, and there was no difference between male and female student scores at grade 4. Results for states/jurisdictions in 2015 showed that 18 states/jurisdictions scored higher at grade 4 and 24 states/jurisdictions scored higher at grade 8 compared to 2009; compared to 2011, twelve states/jurisdictions scored higher at grade 8.
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