NY's sorry results for NAEP science, released today

      Some  observations from the just-released NAEP Grade 8 Science Report Cards of 2011, as opposed to the results in 2009:

• The percentage of NY students who were identified as proficient or advanced fell from 31 to 29 percent. 

• The average score remained the same, at 149, while the national average rose from 149 in 2009 to 151 in 2011 -- NY state appears to be losing ground to the nation as a whole. 

• NY state ranked 26th out of 46 participating states in 2009, but 34th out of 50 in 2011. Once again, our state appears to be losing the race. 

• Ignoring statistical significance and looking merely at average scores 2009 vs. 2011, 39 states showed increases of at least one point from 2009 to 2011, 5 states (including NY, NJ, CT, and RI) stayed the same, and 2 states (IL and PA -- how are those ed reforms working for you there in Chicago and Philly?) declined in their average scores.

       Since NAEP has not yet released 2011 reports for urban districts, we can only look at NY state as a whole so far.

--Steve Koss