Tuesday: Six in 10 Minnesota kids come up short in science

Minnesota has long enjoyed a reputation as a nationwide leader in science education, but the results of a new test could cast a shadow on that image.

Only about four out of 10 Minnesota students can be labeled "proficient" in science, according to results released today by the Minnesota Department of Education. Of the three grade levels given the new tests, about 39 percent of fifth-graders, 38 percent of eighth-graders and 43 percent of high school students did well enough on the Science MCA-II.

This was the first time the test had been given in the state, and the results don't count toward student graduation requirements or the federal No Child Left Behind law. But they still raise questions among some educators about whether the state is doing enough to live up to its reputation, or whether the bar has been set too high.

"The results are not, obviously, satisfactory to the state," said Chas Anderson, deputy education commissioner. "We want to see higher student achievement overall."

Other educators stress that the fact that about 40 percent of students meet proficiency levels bolsters Minnesota's reputation as a science leader. The state expects its students to confront and master tough subjects, said Mike Lindstrom, executive director of SciMath Minnesota, a non-profit that advocates for science, math and technology education.

"Minnesota has set a high bar," said Lindstrom. "We set a rigorous standard, and the test itself is reflecting the standards that have been written."

In a 1995 study, Minnesota's eighth-graders ranked second in the world behind Singapore in science on the 1995 Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS).

In 2000, on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, Montana was the only state to score significantly higher than Minnesota's eighth-graders. In 2005, five states significantly outperformed Minnesota.

"We are extremely competitive worldwide in science at eighth grade," said Don Pascoe, assessment director for the Osseo schools.

Lindstrom suggested that science education may have suffered in the state during the first years of the No Child Left Behind law, when schools could face actual sanctions, or at least a blemish on their reputation, for not meeting math and reading standards. That diverted attention from subjects as varied as art, science and social studies.

Even though there is no "force-of-law" behind the new science test, he said, "there are still going to be lists in the newspapers of school districts and their scores, and that publicity is all it takes to make things change in a school district."

Recent data show Minnesota students leading the nation in ACT scores, with science scores above the national average. But the same ACT data estimate that only 40 percent of Minnesotans reached the "college readiness" standard for science.

The Mahtomedi School District had the highest proficiency levels in the metro area, a result that the district called "exciting," but not surprising.

The district combed through state science standards to make sure they were being addressed in the classroom, according to assistant superintendent Denise Waalen.

The district also has an "Engineering and Leadership" program in middle and high school that has forced the general curriculum to become more rigorous.

"There's never really one thing" that districts can do to improve scores, Waalen said. "If there were, every school would be racing to do that."

Online test is a first

The science test was the first state test to be done entirely online. Unlike an exam where students fill in a multiple-choice sheet with a pencil, the test was interactive and allowed students to simulate experiments.

While there were a few bumps in setting up the tests and a couple more when the tests were given, the online process was, overall, fairly problem-free.

At Prior Lake High School, where almost 73 percent of the students were proficient, teachers made sure that state standards were addressed in the classroom before the test was administered, and teachers walked through a practice test with the students so they knew what to expect.

"You might think these kids are all so computer savvy, and they are," said Terry Lewis, chair of the science department at Prior Lake High School and a biology teacher. "But I don't know if they're used to doing so much testing that way. That might have thrown a lot of kids off."

Minnesota is in the process of revising the science standards that were approved by the Legislature in 2004, Anderson, of the Department of Education, said. And the state has several initiatives to improve education in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields, including the Math and Science Teacher Academy, which began this year and focuses on improving teacher skills.

"I would still argue that in the state of Minnesota, kids are getting a high-quality science education," said Randy Smasal, science specialist for the Anoka-Hennepin school district. "It's just not at the level that we want it to be at."

Pascoe, of Osseo, thinks that Minnesotans will not get angry with the schools for the low proficiency levels.

"Minnesotans are smart," Pascoe said, "They're going to see the disconnect between the standards set here and things like our ACT scores. There will be an initial bad reaction to the scores, but I think it'll soften quickly when people recognize how high the targets really are."

Emily Johns • 651-298-1541