Minnesota students' science test scores take big jump

Minnesota's students made dramatic gains on state science tests this year, but still fewer than half are proficient in the subject, according to test data being released today by the Minnesota Department of Education.

Overall, 46 percent of students exceeded the expectations the state set out for them, up from 40 percent last year, when the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments-II science exams were given for the first time. Of the three grade levels tested this spring, 45 percent of fifth-graders, 43 percent of eighth-graders and 50 percent of high school students succeeded.

For educators, that's not good enough.

"While we're happy with the improvement, we're still not pleased with the overall numbers," said Chas Anderson, deputy education commissioner, who acknowledged that increased familiarity with the online test this year probably contributed to the increase.

The test results come seven months after the state's students were found to be near the top of the world in math and science, based on an international assessment that compares Minnesota students with those from other countries.

On the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, only Singapore significantly outperformed Minnesota in fourth-grade science and only four countries significantly outpaced Minnesota in eighth-grade science.

"This makes it obvious that Minnesota has set a rigorous standard, probably more rigorous than many other nations," said Mike Lindstrom, executive director of SciMath Minnesota, a nonprofit that advocates for science, math and technology education.

No. 2 pencils not needed

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

While the results don't count toward student graduation requirements or the federal No Child Left Behind law, educators are still watching carefully.

"We need to be accountable to our public for what we do in public schools," Lindstrom said. "Last year, schools sort of woke up to the fact that this is real, it's going to be published, and we need to get our act together."

That included starting to more carefully match classroom curriculums to what the state expects, he said.

Last year's scores also were a wake-up call for teachers.

"Every single teacher that I've talked to has the sense of, 'I want my students to do well, and I want my students to understand science and science reasoning,' " said Mary Colson, an eighth-grade earth science teacher at Moorhead's Horizon Middle School, and the incoming president of the Minnesota Science Teachers' Association.

Helping students get familiar with the online test can help scores, she said. Last year, she gave her students a 20-minute tutorial on how to take it. Thirty-eight percent of the eighth-graders at her school were proficient on the 2008 test.

This year, she said, she had three days of training with her students. She talked about where previous students made mistakes, and connected parts of the test to lessons from the school year. Forty-eight percent of eighth-graders were proficient on the 2009 test.

In the Stillwater Area School District, where almost six in 10 students were proficient this year, the district has been concentrating on integrating science, math and engineering into all parts of the curriculum. That meant more hands-on learning, such as a summer robotics academy that just ended.

"There are a lot of things happening that bring science to life," said Chris Lennox, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning.

Score jumps everywhere

Test scores also jumped in the state's biggest urban districts. Twenty-seven percent of Minneapolis students passed this year, up from 22 percent last year. In St. Paul, 26 percent of students passed, compared to 21 percent last year.

"We are trending upward, so we are pleased with that," said Bernadeia Johnson, deputy superintendent in Minneapolis. "It's just not fast enough."

In the metro area, the Fridley district made the most progress, with four in 10 students being labeled proficient this year, up from 27 percent last year.

Assistant Superintendent Denise Waalen, of Mahtomedi, which had the metro area's highest scores for the second year in a row -- with 73 percent passing -- said that science success comes from "looking at the data on your students and what they need to be able to be successful, and knowing where you want to go."

Providing professional development for teachers is important, she said. So is engaging the community in engineering programs the district offers at all levels.

Anderson, of the state education department, noted that Minnesota students made gains in every ethnic subgroup, too.

That said, as the scores rose, the white/black achievement gap also grew slightly, by about three to four percentage points in all three grades.

The state recently completed revising its science standards, on which the tests are based, Anderson said. That means schools probably will implement them in the 2010-11 school year, she said, with a new round of tests expected for the 2012-13 school year.

While the science test is the only online test right now, the Department of Education hopes to put the state math test online by 2011, followed by the reading test two years later.

In the meantime, Lindstrom said, good news about the science tests should not soften schools' resolve to improve.

"We need to keep on this trajectory," Lindstrom said. "It may get more difficult, but if we keep raising the scores, that's exactly what we need to do. Our work is not done."

Emily Johns • 612-673-7460