As you will discover from this chapter, and perhaps even more so from your own experiences, the answer to this question depends on a lot of factors. Since 1969, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has conducted a series (about every four years) of assessments involving nationally representative samples of 9, 13 and in-school 17 year old students. These studies provided information about trends in science learning among American students. I will examine very briefly some of the results of these studies in order to address the question: What is the status of student learning in science?
The NAEP investigated a number of areas of student learning including achievement in science, attitudes toward science and experiences in science. I'll touch on each of these. Before we delve into this discussion, you should keep in mind that all test procedures have limitations. A test cannot measure in precise terms what a group of students know. For example, in the results that we will discuss, all questions were designed in a pencil and paper format. There was no performance testing; that is students were not asked to make observations of real objects, develop inferences based on actual data collection procedures, or design and carry out an experiment. Each test has a built in bias, and you should be aware of the limitations.
Let's start with a question about learning. Do you think that most 17 year old high school students could answer this question?
Which of the following is the best indication of an approaching storm?a. A seismogram that is a straight lineb. A decrease in barometric pressure
c. A clearing sky after a cold front passes
d. A sudden drop in the humidity
According to the results of the most recent NAEP study, the odds are that only 41 percent of the 17 year olds would answer this question correctly (correct response: b). Does this surprise you? Let's examine how the NAEP reported its findings, and what the results were.
To report achievement results, the NAEP created five levels of proficiency and used these as a mechanism to examine trends, and compare various groups of students. The five areas were defined as follows:
Level 150-----Knows Everyday Science FactsLevel 200-----Understands Simple Scientific Principles
Level 250-----Applies Basic Scientific Information
Level 300-----Analyzes Scientific Procedures and Data
Level 350-----Integrates Specialized Scientific Information
These levels were computed as the weighted composite of proficiency on five content-area subscales----Nature of Science, Life Science, Chemistry, Physics and Earth and Space Science. Following is a description of the nature of each level and includes sample items from the 1986 NAEP science test.
Level 150---Knows Everyday Science Facts
Students at this level know some general scientific facts of the type that could be learned from everyday experiences. They can read graphs, match the distinguishing characteristics of animals, and predict the operation of familiar apparatus that work according to mechanical principles.
Level 200---Understands Simple Scientific Principles
Students at this level are developing some understanding of simple scientific principles, particularly in the Life Sciences. For example, they exhibit some rudimentary knowledge of the structure and function of plants and animals.
Sample Questions: Why may you become ill after visiting a friend who is the sick with the flu?
- The room your friend was in was too warm.
- You ate the same kind of food your friend ate.
- You did not dress properly.
- The virus that causes the flue entered your body.
Level 250---Applies Basic Scientific Information
Students at this level can interpret data from simple tables and make inferences about the outcomes of experimental procedures. They exhibit knowledge and understanding of the Life Sciences, including a familiarity with some aspects of animal behavior and of ecological relationships. These students also demonstrate some knowledge of basic information from the Physical Sciences.
Sample Question: Blocks A, B, and C are the same size. Blocks B and C float on water. Block A sinks to the bottom. Which one of the following do you know is TRUE?
- Block A weighs more than block B
- Block B weighs more than block C.
- Block C weighs more than block A.
- Block B weighs more than block A.
- I don't know.
Level 300---Analyzes Scientific Procedures and Data
Students at this level can evaluate the appropriateness of the design of an experiment. They have more detailed scientific knowledge, and the skill to apply their knowledge in interpreting information from text graphs. These students also exhibit a growing understanding of principles from the Physical Sciences.
Level 350---Integrates Specialized Scientific Information
Students at this level can infer relationships and draw conclusions using detailed scientific knowledge from the Physical Sciences, particularly Chemistry. They also can apply basic principles of genetics and interpret the societal implications of research in this field.
Trends in Science Achievement
If we compare the results that students showed since 1969 (Figure 2.7), it is evident that overall student proficiency and achievement on the test continued to decrease from 1969 to 1982. Although scores increased from 1982 to 1986, the level of performance still remains below the 1969 level.
Figure 2. (Achievement results since 1969)
Let's examine the results for each of the five proficiency levels since 1969. These results give us more insight into student learning because we can talk more specifically. Figure 2.8 shows the trends in the percentage of students at or above the five proficiency levels. If we focus on the 13 and 17 year olds, it is clear that secondary students are proficient in knowing everyday science facts (Level 150) and understanding simple scientific principles (Level 200). Beyond these levels, we begin to observe some problems. Although 17 year olds are able to apply basic scientific information, only 53 percent of 13 year olds were proficient in this level (250). Serious learning problems exist at levels 300 and 350. Only one in ten junior high/middle school students and four in ten 17 year olds were able to evaluate the appropriateness of procedures in science or able to interpret results. On level 350, which measured sophisticated knowledge in physical and biological sciences, virtually no 13 year olders and only seven percent of the 17 year olders were proficient.
Figure 2.4 Trends in percentage of students at or above five levels
The authors of the NAEP study reported results for White, Hispanic and Black students. The largest gains, shown in Figure 2.9, were shown by groups of students considered to be at-risk, including Black and Hispanic students. However, minority students at ages 13 and 17 still appear to perform at least four years behind their majority counterparts.
(3 graphs comparing White, Hispanic and Black Students)
In an analysis of the so-called gender gap, overall proficiency of females was below that of males, and the trend from earlier years continues. According to data (Figure 2.10), the performance gap between 13 year old males and females across the five studies more than doubles, whereas the gap between 17 year old males and females has narrowed.
(Trends in Average Science Proficiency by Gender)
Mullis and Jenkins, the authors of the NAEP report, The Science Report Card summarize the results by making these points:
• Although recent progress has been made, most has occurred at the lower end of the proficiency scale.• Not only is it necessary to increase the average science proficiency of all students in our country, but it is also essential that the percentages of students reaching the higher ranges of proficiency be increased substantially.
• Students' knowledge of science and their ability to use what they know appear remarkably limited.
• Although progress has been made by Black and Hispanic students and those living in the southeastern region of the country, vast performance gaps remain across racial/ethnic groups, and essentially no progress has been made in closing the performance gap between males and females.
Trends in Student Attitudes Toward Science
The NAEP studies have also investigated students perceptions of science. As we will see later in this chapter, some theorists believe that student attitudes play an important role in determining science achievement. In fact, NAEP researchers found that a positive relationship appears to exist between attitudes toward science and proficiency in the subject, especially among eleventh-grade students.
Students have many views on the utility and value of science. For example, when students were asked would they use science as an adult, only 51% of the seventh graders and 46% of the eleventh grades responded "yes." And less than 43% of both groups said that knowing science would help them earn a living or be important in their life's work.
Another measure of students' attitude toward science is how they believe science can be applied to help resolve particular global problems such as world starvation, diseases, overpopulation, and birth defects, and such environmental problems as depletion of natural resources, air and water pollution and destruction of the ozone layer. An interesting finding by the NAEP was that students who perceived numerous applications of science tended to have higher science proficiency.
In 1977 and 1986, 11th graders were more likely than 7th graders to believe that science could help alleviate national and global problems. Students were more likely in 1986 than 1977 to agree that science knowledge could help preserve natural resources, reduce air and water pollution and prevent birth defects. However, students were not as likely to agree that science could solve the world starvation problem.