Hawaii students show testing progress but still lag

More Hawaii public school students are meeting or exceeding national science benchmarks, but achievement levels on the exam known as the “Nation’s Report Card” still trail national averages, results released Wednesday night from 46 states show.

About 2,300 fourth-graders and 2,200 eighth-graders in Hawaii public schools took the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, last spring. Nationally, 115,400 fourth-graders and 110,900 eighth-graders took the exam.

Hawaii posted larger gains than the national averages for both the number of students testing proficient and average test scores between 2009 and 2015, but achievement in those areas ranks near the bottom of states.

Overall, 30 percent of Hawaii’s fourth-graders tested at or above proficiency in science, up from 25 percent in 2009, the last time the science test was administered. Nationally, 37 percent of public school fourth-graders tested proficient, compared with 34 percent in 2009.

Twenty-three percent of Hawaii’s eighth-graders, meanwhile, met science proficiency targets — a 6-point increase from 17 percent in 2009. Nationally, 33 percent of eighth-graders tested proficient or higher, up from 30 percent in 2009.

The standardized assessment covers three content areas: physical science, life science and earth and space sciences. When the science exam was revised in 2009, officials said the results could not be compared with those from previous assessment years. (A separate NAEP exam is administered in reading and math every two years.)

Achievement levels are set by the National Assessment Governing Board, an independent, nonpartisan organization established by Congress. Students performing at or above proficient on NAEP exams “demonstrate solid academic performance and competency over challenging subject matter,” according to the board.

The science results are reported as average scores on a scale from zero to 300.

Hawaii’s fourth-graders on average scored 146, up 6 points from 2009. Nationally, the average fourth-grade science score was 153, up from 149 in 2009. At the state level, fourth-grade scores ranged from a high of 165 in New Hampshire and Virginia to 140 in California. Hawaii’s average score was higher than five other states.

The average science score for Hawaii’s eighth-graders, meanwhile, edged up to 144 from 139 in 2009. The average national eighth-grade score mirrored the national fourth-grade score at 153. At the state level, eighth-grade scores ranged from 166 in Utah to 140 in Mississippi. Hawaii’s average score was higher than four other states.

Hawaii high school students, and students in grades four and eight, also are tested annually at the state level for science, as required by the U.S. Department of Education. Results released this month show statewide science proficiency increased to 43 percent from 41 percent the previous year.