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7/27/2010 12:00 AMJodie Tweed, Brainerd Dispatch About half of Minnesota students didn't achieve proficiency on their MCA-II science tests this spring, but overall science results are continuing to improve during the third year of testing. The Minnesota Department of Education released Tuesday the results of science tests taken by the state's fifth- and eighth-grade and high school students last spring. Each district is able to determine which grade level in the high school is tested since districts offer life science or biology in different grades. High school students take the test once they have finished those science courses. In Brainerd, the 10th graders took the science test and 54 percent were proficient in 2010, a 6 percent decrease from 2009. Of Brainerd fifth-graders, 64 percent achieved proficiency on the test, an 8 percent increase from last year. Of Brainerd eighth-graders, 58 percent were proficient on the test, an 11 percent increase from last year. A few area schools achieved double digit percentage point increases this year. Most notably was the Crosby-Ironton School District where fifth-grade scores increased by 7 percentage points to 56 percent proficiency this year, eighth-grade scores increased by 18 percent to 59 percent proficiency and high school student scores jumped by 23 percent to 60 percent proficiency. Statewide, eighth-graders made the most improvement on the 2010 MCA-II science test, with the percentage considered proficient rising 5 percentage points from 2009 to 48 percent in 2010. High school students' scores increased slightly with nearly 52 percent proficient, up from 49.5 percent in 2009. Fifth-grade scores held about steady, with 46 percent proficient compared to 45 percent a year ago. "We have seen nice gains," said Education Commissioner Alice Seagren. "Do we have anything to brag about when slightly more than 50 percent of our kids are proficient? No. We still have a long ways to go, but we are moving in the right direction." It was the third year in a row of steady gains in proficiency on the test. The MCA-II science test was taken by 178,500 students in grades five, eight and in high school who this spring took the test, which measures how well students know certain scientific principles in the state's academic standards. For example, eighth-graders are expected to understand heat and chemical and mechanical energy and describe common energy transformations. The science test doesn't have the same stakes as some other standardized tests, which can be required for graduation or used to levy sanctions under the federal No Child Left Behind law. But Seagren said the subject is no less important. "Not everybody is going to end up being an engineer or a scientist in a white coat, but we do need the kids to understand how to problem-solve, how to think critically, how to be analytical," she said. "I just think it's something we have to do." The science results showed the same achievement gaps between white and minority students that have existed on standardized tests in Minnesota for years. Fifty-nine percent of white high school students were proficient in science in 2010; 23 percent of Hispanic students; and 19 percent of black students. The department said minority results improved in eighth grade, up 4 points among Hispanics to 21 percent up 5 points among black test-takers, to 18 percent. But those gains didn't shrink the achievement gap, as scores for white eighth-graders rose 6 points to 55 percent proficient. This story contains information provided by The Associated Press. http://www.brainerddispatch.com/stories/072710/new_20100727035.shtml | |||||||||||||||||||||
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