Governor Bill Haslam announced Thursday that Tennessee students are the fastest improving in the nation in science, according to the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress, commonly known as the Nation’s Report Card.
The last time fourth and eighth grade students both took NAEP science was 2009, and the 2015 NAEP results show Tennessee is the only state to grow faster than the nation in both grades with Tennessee students doubling the average national growth.
Tennessee also narrowed or eliminated several achievement gaps.
The gap between the science performance of male and female students was completely eliminated in both grades. In both fourth and eighth grade science the gap in achievement scores between white and African-American students narrowed, and the gap tightened between white and Latino students in fourth grade.
With these scores, Tennessee now ranks 19th and 21st in the country on fourth and eighth grade science, respectively – the highest rankings the state has ever had on the Nation’s Report Card.
“We couldn’t be prouder of today’s news. When you think of what’s important to the future of Tennessee, having our students double the national average growth in science is incredibly powerful. Not only that, but every single student group in Tennessee improved. We narrowed what we call our achievement gaps and completely eliminated the gender gap,” Governor Haslam said. “We are on a long journey. We’ve done the hard work of raising expectations, investing more in education and letting our teachers and students show us what they can do, and again and again, our students and teachers are stepping up to the challenge.”
Since 2007, Tennessee has been working to raise academic expectations and strengthen teaching across subjects, building all students’ critical thinking and problem solving abilities. In addition, the state has invested in innovation and technology, encouraging more science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) for students in every grade and strengthening college and career pathways for all students.
“We've set high expectations across the board for our students in Tennessee, and our performance on the Nation’s Report Card continues to reflect the hard work and progress our students and teachers are making,” Tennessee Commissioner of Education Candice McQueen, said. “To me, the most encouraging part of today's science results is that all of Tennessee's students are showing what is possible. We’ve narrowed or eliminated gaps between groups of students, and we are continuing to make huge strides with all students.”
In 2013, Tennessee became the fastest improving state in the country on the Nation’s Report Card for math and reading. The state’s 2015 results maintained the unprecedented growth with a new class of students, proving the gains were real. Those results also gave the state its highest ranking until today — 25th in fourth grade math. Tennessee has a goal to rank in the top half of all states on the Nation’s Report Card by 2019, and these results put the state in the top 25 on three of those assessments.
The Nation’s Report Card, also known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what students in the United States know and can do in various subject areas. It is known as the gold standard of large-scale student assessments. Between January and March 2015, the NAEP science assessment was given to approximately 115,400 fourth graders, 110,900 eighth graders, and 11,000 12th graders across 46 states and the Department of Defense system, representing the nation’s public and private schools.
"Tennessee's achievement in education is nothing short of awe-inspiring. When Governor Haslam was elected in 2010, he immediately sought to raise the expectations for what can be accomplished in the classroom in our state. For far too long, our results were mired in the bottom of national rankings. He knew that had to change. With our Republican-controlled General Assembly committed to that vision, new initiatives were launched to partner with our teachers and reward them for their hard work, while students were asked to meet higher standards that better prepare them for our competitive economy. Over the last few years, that innovation has started to pay off, with Tennessee excelling like never before.
"We've climbed into top 25 nationally in science while closing significant gaps for all students. Tennesseans understand that leadership matters and, because of that, we're witnessing a success story that stretches from the statehouse to the schoolhouse. Without a doubt, this is a banner day for our state's students, teachers, and parents," said TN Republican party Chairman Haynes.
“We’ve said all along that with rigorous standards and increased accountability, combined to support excellent teaching, we could raise the bar for Tennessee’s students. Across the country science scores are on the rise, but Tennessee’s kids continue to lead the pack in growth. In fact, the rate of growth in Tennessee doubled the national average,” said Tennesseans for Student's Success President and CEO Adam Lister. “Continuing to be the fastest improving nation in education is more than a designation. It’s the result of mindful student-focused reforms centered around high expectations, increased accountability, rigorous standards, and an aligned assessment to measure success. Today is a great day to rightfully focus on the success in Tennessee’s classrooms, the fastest improving in the nation. Tomorrow we will continue to focus our efforts and attention on making sure the policies, people, and priorities that lead to this success are protected.”
"NAEP is a yardstick for measuring Tennessee academic performance over time and in comparison to other states. Since the state began raising expectations, strengthening teaching, and emphasizing post-secondary education and workforce readiness for all students, Tennessee academic growth has been fast and sustained in multiple subjects over multiple years. Although proficiency levels are not yet as high as we know our students are capable of achieving, Tennessee’s trend is decidedly in the right direction.
"The NAEP science results indicate that the work by teachers, school and district leaders, and parents is putting more Tennessee students on track for the future. The Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University projects Tennessee will have more than 280,000 health, science, technology, and engineering jobs by 2020. What matters most is not how well Tennessee students scored on a science test this year but whether they are well prepared to take advantage of those kinds of opportunities," officials said.
At a glance:
-Tennessee is the only state to grow faster than the nation in both fourth and eighth grade science.
-Tennessee eighth graders were the fastest improving in the nation.
-Tennessee fourth graders were the second fastest improving in the nation.
-Tennessee students doubled the average national growth across states in both fourth and eighth grade science, launching Tennessee into the top half of all the states.
-Tennessee now ranks 19th and 21st in the country in fourth and eighth grade science, respectively. These are the highest rankings Tennessee has ever had on the Nation’s Report Card.
-Tennessee students narrowed or eliminated nearly every achievement gap:
-In both fourth and eighth grade science, the gap in achievement scores between white and African-American students narrowed.
-The gap tightened between white and Latino students in fourth grade.
-The gap between male and female students was completely eliminated in both grades.
Full results for the nation and states are available online at nationsreportcard.gov.