PROVIDENCE – About one in four Rhode Island students attained “proficiency” in the first statewide science tests, which were given in May to grades 4, 8 and 11, officials told a 1 p.m. Statehouse news conference.
Proficiency was twice as high among Ocean State fourth graders, at 36 percent, than among their peers in grades eight and 11, where the proficiency was attained by 18 percent and 17 percent, respectively, R.I. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (RIDE) figures show.
The new science tests – the latest addition to the three-state New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) – were administered simultaneously to students in Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Vermont. In New Hampshire, which also released its results today, NECAP science scores were higher than in Rhode Island, but showed a similar decline with age: proficiency was attained by 51 percent of Granite State fourth-graders, 26 percent of eighth graders and 22 percent of 11th graders. Vermont scores are not slated for release until tomorrow.
“Over the past three years, Rhode Island has put in place clear and challenging science standards for all grade levels,” Gov. Donald L. Carcieri said in a statement that accompanied the data’s disclosure. “The test results released today are our first look at whether classroom instruction is lined up with these standards.”
Scores were lowest among students in the state’s urban core, where proficiency was attained by 13 percent of fourth graders, 3 percent of eighth graders and 5 percent of 11th graders, the Department of Education found.
“With the results of the NECAP science tests as our new benchmark, we can begin to examine some critical questions about science education in Rhode Island,” Robert G. Flanders Jr., chairman of the R.I. Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education, said. “We need to determine whether we have enough qualified science teachers and whether they have the necessary training and materials to do their work.”
“Over the past five years, the Board of Regents has focused on bringing high standards to all Rhode Island schools,” added Patrick A. Guida, the regents’ vice chairman. Now, he said, “we can set the right course of action to improve these scores. It’s a big challenge, but we intend to see improved test scores in the sciences in future years.”
“Rhode Island has never before had a science assessment,” Carceiri noted, “and these results will guide us as we take the necessary steps to align the science curriculum and instruction with our state standards. If you don’t acknowledge the problem, you can’t take it on and solve it – and that’s what we intend to do.”
Additional information from the R.I. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and its Office of Assessment and Accountability is available at www.ride.ri.gov.
