Classroom Context: Time Spent on Science Instruction

As part of the 2009 science assessment, teachers of fourth- and eighth-graders were asked about the amount of time spent on science instruction. The full text of the question, percentage of students whose teachers responded in each category, and scale scores of students for each response category are below.

About how much time in total do you spend with this class on science instruction in a typical week?

A. Less than 1 hour
B. 1 to 2.9 hours
C. 3 to 4.9 hours
D. 5 to 6.9 hours
E. 7 hours or more

Grade 4

Grade 8

Percentage of Students

Average Scores

Eighth-grade students whose teachers reported spending 3 to 4.9 hours per week on science instruction had higher scores than students whose teachers spent less time on science instruction.

Time Spent on Science Instruction: Grade 8 average scores

NOTE: The NAEP science scale ranges from 0 to 300. Some apparent differences between estimates may not be statistically significant. See complete data.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2009 Science Assessment.

Browse questionnaires for the NAEP assessments.