The following is a quote from a recent report entitled Taking the pulse of bioscience education in America: A State-by-State Analysis.
The national average scale score for 8th grade public school students in the NAEP science assessment for 2005 was 147, which has changed little from prior years. In its summary of NAEP science results, the NCES found that there was no improvement at grade 8 nationally from either prior testing year (1996 or 2000). This flat performance translated to the states, with most showing no improvement. Of the 37 participating states, only five—California, Hawaii, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Virginia—reported making gains among 8th grade students in 2005.
Better education is probably the most important “KEy” to the KnowledgeEconomy, and it is almost impossible to overstate the importance of the biological sciences to the future of our health, nutrition, and environment. This recently issued report should serve as an important tool in helping people all around the world focus on improving education in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. If you have a serious comment regarding a better way to achieve this goal, let us know at info at KnowledgeEconomy dot comand maybe we will post your thoughts. We are about to convert this site from this simple WordPress format to a more interactive format and we are looking for more reader input.