What is surprising about the newly released science scores in the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress, commonly known as the nation’s report card, is that anybody is surprised that they were, on average, so low.

First some basics on the test and the results:

Who: national and state samples of 156,500 fourth-graders and 151,100 eighth-graders, and a national sample of 11,100 12th-graders.

What: questions designed to measure their knowledge and abilities in physical science, life science, and Earth and space sciences.

Results:

* 34 percent of fourth-graders, 30 percent of eighth-graders and 21 percent of 12th-graders performed at or above the proficient level, demonstrating competency on challenging subject matter.

* 72 percent of fourth-graders, 63 percent of eighth-graders and 60 percent of 12fth-graders performed at or above the basic level in science in 2009, demonstrating partial mastery of the knowledge and skills fundamental for proficient work in the subject.

* Top states at the fourth-grade level: New Hampshire, North Dakota, Virginia and Kentucky.

via The Answer Sheet – Why NAEP science scores were so low.