Science tests show statewide improvement over six-year span

THE R.I. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION RELEASED results of the 2014 statewide science assessments. The department said that improvement in all grades has been made since the tests began six years ago. / COURTESY R.I. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
THE R.I. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION RELEASED results of the 2014 statewide science assessments. The department said that improvement in all grades has been made since the tests began six years ago. / COURTESY R.I. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

PROVIDENCE – Results of the 2014 statewide science assessments released Tuesday show improvement in all grades since the tests began six years ago, according to the state Department of Education.
Grades 4, 8 and 11 took the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) tests.
Comparing year-to-year, 41.3 percent of fourth-graders were proficient in 2014, up from 40.9 percent a year ago. Eleventh-graders stayed the same at 30.1 percent, but eighth-graders declined to 22.8 percent from 29.7 percent a year ago. The eighth grade decline was essentially matched by other NECAP states, the state department said in a press release.
Forty-one percent of fourth grade students (up 5 points since 2008), 23 percent of eighth grade students (up 4 points since 2008), and 30 percent of eleventh grade students (up 14 points since 2008) were proficient or better.
“The overall six-year gains in science results have been positive, but I do have concerns about the one-year decline in percent proficient in our middle schools,” Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist said in a statement. “We need to be aware that the science assessments have fewer questions and require a shorter testing time than our mathematics or reading assessments. Because there are relatively few questions on the NECAP science assessments, NECAP science scores may vary from year to year.”
Gist added, “The primary purpose of the science assessment is to provide educators and families with information that can improve student achievement. With that purpose in mind, we will ask our schools and districts to review their science instruction and curriculum, in light of the 2014 assessment results, to see which content areas may need a sharper focus or more resources and support.”
Said Patrick A. Guida, chair of the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education, “Although I am concerned about the decline in scores this year among students in grade 8, I am pleased to see the long-term improvements our high-school students have made in science achievement. We are committed to providing students with challenging high-school science courses, including advanced-placement courses and dual-enrollment courses that can provide high-school students with college credits.”
Thirty-two percent of Rhode Island students attained the level of proficiency or better on the science assessments administered in May, an increase of 8 percentage points over the past six years.
For the first time, Rhode Island results have matched Vermont results, and have surpassed New Hampshire by one point in grade 11.
Many Rhode Island schools and districts have made statistically significant improvements over the past six years, but only two Rhode Island schools made statistically significant gains over both the six-year and the one-year spans: North Kingstown High School and North Smithfield High School.
North Kingstown went from 36.7 percent proficient in 2008 to 53.1 percent in 2013 and 55.9 percent in 2014. North Smithfield went from 30.9 percent in 2008 to 46.9 percent in 2013 and 53.2 percent in 2014.

Among student groups in Rhode Island, economically disadvantaged students and Hispanic students have narrowed achievement gaps in grade 4 over the past six years. These groups also made statistically significant one-year improvements in grade 11.

Results on the science assessments for English learners and for students with disabilities, however, have either declined or improved only slightly over the past six years. Other student groups (Asian, black, Native American) have generally improved over time but not at a rapid enough pace to close achievement gaps, RIDE said.

A new set of standards for science education, the Next Generation Science Standards, is in the process of being implemented.

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Concern about the test results at the eighth grade level prompted the state department to conduct a review, delaying the release of the results until now (they were originally slated for September). The results were found to be accurate, but several items on the assessments for grade 4 and grade 8 were borderline in meeting these requirements.

RIDE found that students may not have been clear about questions due to wording, and therefore did not provide the required response. That led some students to receive no credit on an item even though their response included some accurate scientific information, RIDE said.

Only a small percentage of students who received zero points on one of these test items could have received partial credit (1 point) based on the information that they included in their response, RIDE said.

“Overall, the adjusted scores would change student scores for a small percentage of students by 1 point only and would very rarely raise the scoring level – to partially proficient, proficient, or proficient with distinction – for any student,” RIDE said.

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