Vermont Business Magazine The VermontAgencyofEducationreleasedtheSpring2015New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) ScienceassessmentresultsforVermontstudentsingradesfour,eight,and11.The science assessment is designed to measure students’ scientific literacy and inquiry. Overall, students performed nearly the same in 2015 as they did in 2014.
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Scale Scores
Scale scores locate each student's level of achievement on a scale of 80 possible points. There is no statistically significant difference in average scale scores at any of the three tested grade levels between 2014 and 2015. However, when we compare scale scores in 2011 to 2015, 4thgrade science scores are slightly lower. There was no statistically significant change in scores at the 8thand 11thgrade.
|
Vermont Statewide |
Average Scale Scores[1] |
||||
|
AssessmentAreaandGrade |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
NECAPScienceGrade04 |
40.2 |
40.0 |
38.7 |
38.2 |
38.5 |
|
NECAPScienceGrade08 |
34.6 |
35.0 |
35.4 |
34.5 |
33.7 |
|
NECAPScienceGrade11 |
34.4 |
34.9 |
34.7 |
34.8 |
34.6 |
“Science and scientific inquiry are important to Vermonters,” said Secretary Rebecca Holcombe. ”Our children need to be scientifically literate and able to reason from scientific evidence and able to ask important scientific questions, whether they want to be scientists or just good citizens worried about issues like climate change. Some of our schools provide excellent opportunities to learn in science, and others have work to do. We are committed to supporting improvements in science instruction across all our systems, to ensure that all our children, no matter where they live, have access to high-quality science instruction.”
|
Total “Proficient” and Above |
|||||
|
AssessmentAreaandGrade |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
NECAPScienceGrade04 |
53% |
53% |
47% |
44% |
46% |
|
NECAPScienceGrade08 |
29% |
30% |
32% |
25% |
24% |
|
NECAPScienceGrade11 |
30% |
33% |
31% |
30% |
32% |
“This is also a time of transition in science education from NECAP targets and grade expectations to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS),” explained AOE Science Consultant Gail Hall. “To support this transition, several professional learning opportunities addressing NGSS instructional practices will be available to Vermont science educators in their implementation of the new science standards.”
Vermont Statewide Results for High and Low Income Students
Asseeninpreviousyears,statewideandnationally,anachievementgap persistsbetweenstudentswho live in poverty andstudents from wealthier families across all subjects assessed, including science.InVermont,thescienceachievementgapcontinuestobelarge.
|
Assessment Area and Grade |
Free/Reduced Lunch Status |
Average Scale Score |
||||
|
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
||
|
NECAP Science Grade 04 |
FRL |
36.4 |
36.0 |
34.9 |
34.5 |
34.6 |
|
NECAP Science Grade 04 |
Not FRL |
43.0 |
43.1 |
41.6 |
40.8 |
41.4 |
|
NECAP Science Grade 08 |
FRL |
30.5 |
31.3 |
31.7 |
30.6 |
30.4 |
|
NECAP Science Grade 08 |
Not FRL |
36.9 |
37.3 |
37.8 |
36.8 |
35.8 |
|
NECAP Science Grade 11 |
FRL |
30.2 |
30.5 |
30.6 |
30.7 |
30.6 |
|
NECAP Science Grade 11 |
Not FRL |
36.1 |
36.8 |
36.8 |
36.5 |
36.2 |
“These results give us a means to evaluate the size and direction of our achievement gaps,” said State Testing Director Michael Hock. “At the state level, we will look closely at scores to assess challenges related to equity and set goals.”
Schoolreportsareavailableonline:http://education.vermont.gov/assessment/data#science