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 | NAEP 2000 was a continuation of an assessment first administered in 1996.
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| National samples were selected at grades 4, 8, and 12 for public and nonpublic schools.
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| State samples were selected at grades 4 and 8 for public schools only.
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| Approximately 240,000 students were assessed in national and state samples.
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| Separate national and state samples were assessed, permitting accommodations for special-needs students.
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| Questions were based on three fields of science: Earth, physical, and life sciences. They were also based on the three characteristic elements of knowing and doing science: conceptual understanding, scientific investigation, and practical reasoning.
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| Students answered a combination of multiple-choice and constructed-response questions; half of the students were also asked to perform a hands-on task.
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Fourth- and eighth-graders' scores remain stable since 1996, while scores for high school seniors decline.  |
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More than one-third of the states and jurisdictions that participated at grades 4 and 8 scored higher than the national average. |
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Results for various subgroups (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity) of students show relatively few changes in performance between 1996 and 2000. |
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Teachers' undergraduate major is related to student science achievement at grade 8.
Certain types of computer use in the classroom are related to science achievement.
Students scored higher when teachers had them work together on science activities at least weekly.
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Science courses taken are related to achievement at grades 8 and 12.
Certain types of computer use had a positive relation to performance at grade 12.
Television/video watching is associated with student performance at grades 4, 8, and 12.
Internet use in the home had a positive relation to student performance at grades 4, 8, and 12.
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