Thirty-six percent of fourth-grade students at or above NAEP Proficient in science, lower compared to 2015
In 2019, thirty-six percent of fourth-grade students performed at or above the NAEP Proficient level on the science assessment, which was 2 percentage points lower than in 2015 and 2 percentage points higher compared to 2009.
Additional significant changes in achievement-level performance in 2019 include the following:
Seventy-three percent of fourth-grade students performed at or above the NAEP Basic level, which was 3 percentage points lower compared to 2015 but not significantly different from 2009.
Twenty-seven percent of students performed below the NAEP Basic level in 2019, which was 3 percentage points higher compared to 2015 but not significantly different from 2009.
One percent of fourth-graders performed at the NAEP Advanced level in 2019, which was not significantly different from 2015 but was higher compared to 2009.
NAEP achievement levels are performance standards that describe what students should know and be able to do. Results are reported as percentages of students performing at or above three achievement levels (NAEP Basic, NAEP Proficient, and NAEP Advanced). Students performing at or above the NAEP Proficient level on NAEP assessments demonstrate solid academic performance and competency over challenging subject matter. It should be noted that the NAEP Proficient achievement level does not represent grade-level proficiency as determined by other assessment standards (e.g., state or district assessments). NAEP achievement levels are to be used on a trial basis and should be interpreted and used with caution. Find out more about the NAEP science achievement levels.
Scroll down to explore NAEP achievement-level results for student groups.
NAEP achievement-level setting is based on the judgments of a broadly representative panel of teachers, education specialists, and members of the general public. The authorizing legislation for NAEP requires that the achievement levels be used on a trial basis until the Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) determines that the achievement levels are reasonable, valid, and informative to the public (20 USC § 9622[e][2][C]). The NCES Commissioner's determination is to be based on a congressionally mandated, rigorous, and independent evaluation. The latest evaluation of the achievement levels was conducted by a committee convened by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in 2016. The evaluation concluded that further evidence should be gathered to determine whether the achievement levels are reasonable, valid, and informative. Accordingly, the NCES Commissioner determined that the trial status of the achievement levels should be maintained at this time. Read more about how NAEP achievement levels are set. In 2018, the National Assessment Governing Board issued a revised Policy Statement clarifying that the NAEP Proficient level is not intended to reflect grade-level performance expectations but is specific to performance on NAEP assessments. Read the Governing Board Policy Statement.
The chart below lists the percentages of fourth-grade students performing at each of the NAEP science achievement levels in 2019 and in previous assessment years. Set the baseline at either NAEP Basic or NAEP Proficient to see the percentages of students performing at or above that NAEP achievement level. Click "Show NAEP achievement-level breakdown" to see the percentages of fourth-grade students at each of the NAEP achievement levels. Click "Hide NAEP achievement-level breakdown" to see the percentages of students at or above the selected baseline NAEP achievement level. Use the slider to change focal years.
Figure | NAEP achievement-level results in NAEP science for fourth-grade students: 2009, 2015, and 2019
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NOTE: NAEP achievement levels are to be used on a trial basis and should be interpreted and used with caution.
Lower percentages of fourth-grade students at or above NAEP Proficient for several student groups compared to 2015
In 2019, the percentages of fourth-grade students who performed at or above the NAEP Proficient level in science were lower than in 2015 for several reported student groups, including:
Compared to 2015, the percentages of fourth-grade students who performed at or above the NAEP Basic level in science were lower in 2019 for many reported student groups, including:
In comparison to 2009, there were significant changes in the percentages of students who performed at or above NAEP Proficient, at or above NAEP Basic, and at NAEP Advanced in 2019. Examples of significant changes include the following:
The percentages of students who performed at or above NAEP Proficient were higher for several student groups. For example, female students, Black, Hispanic, and Asian/Pacific Islander students, and students of Two or More Races.
Among racial/ethnic groups, the percentages of students at or above the NAEP Basic level were higher for Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native students and lower for White students.
Higher percentages of female students and students attending schools in the South region of the country performed at the NAEP Advanced level.
The chart below lists the percentages of fourth-grade students performing at each of the NAEP science achievement levels in 2019 and in previous assessment years. Set the baseline at either NAEP Basic or NAEP Proficient to see the percentages of students performing at or above that NAEP achievement level. Click "Show NAEP achievement-level breakdown" to see the percentages of fourth-grade students at each of the NAEP achievement levels. Click "Hide NAEP achievement-level breakdown" to see the percentages of students at or above the selected baseline NAEP achievement level. Use the slider to change focal years.
Race/ethnicity
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Figure | NAEP achievement-level results in NAEP science for fourth-grade students, by race/ethnicity: 2009, 2015, and 2019
NOTE: The NAEP science scale ranges from 0 to 300. In 2019, the digitally based NAEP science assessment was administered for the first time. The 2019 science report includes results from students who took the digitally based assessment and students who took the paper-based assessment. For more information, see the About page. The 2009, 2011, 2015, and 2019 NAEP science assessments were based on a new science framework introduced in 2009, which replaced the one used for the 1996, 2000, and 2005 assessments. The 2009 framework started a new NAEP science trend line so the results from the 2009, 2011, 2015, and 2019 assessments cannot be compared to those from previous assessment years. The 2011 NAEP science assessment for grade 8 was a special administration to permit comparisons with the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Results are not shown for data points where the sample sizes are insufficient to permit a reliable estimate or where data are not available. Black includes African American, and Hispanic includes Latino. Race categories exclude Hispanic origin. In compliance with new standards from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for collecting and reporting data on race/ethnicity, additional information was collected beginning in 2011 so that results could be reported separately for Asian students and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students. Students who identified with two or more of the racial/ethnic groups (e.g., White and Black) would have been classified as "other" and reported as part of the "unclassified" category prior to 2011, and classified as "Two or More Races" in 2011 and later assessment years. Results for these students are presented under the "Two or More Races" category in the graphics and tables in the report. Beginning in the 2014-15 school year, states could additionally categorize students as eligible for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) by including them in their Community Eligibility Provision; therefore, the percentage of students categorized as eligible may have increased in comparison to 2009 and 2011 due in part to this provision. Readers should interpret NSLP trend results with caution. The information about “Eligibility for NSLP” variable is based on available school records. If school records were not available, the student was classified as "Information not available." If the school did not participate in the program, all students in that school were classified as “Information not available.” Because students’ eligibility for NSLP may be underreported at grade 12, the NSLP results at grade 12 are not included in this report. The category “students with disabilities” includes students identified as having either an Individualized Education Program or protection under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The results for students with disabilities and English learners are based on students who were assessed and cannot be generalized to the total population of such students. See more information about student group variables. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding or the omission of categories. Although the estimates (e.g., average scores or percentages) are shown as rounded numbers in the charts, the positions of the data points in the graphics are based on the unrounded numbers. Unrounded numbers were used for calculating the differences between the estimates, and for the statistical comparison test when the estimates were compared to each other. Not all apparent differences between estimates are statistically significant.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), various years, 2009–19 Science Assessments.