
This National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) science assessment was first administered to nationally representative samples of fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-grade students in 1996. The figure below shows national average scores in 1996 and 2000 based on the 0-to-300 NAEP science scale at each grade. In 2000, the national average scores of fourth- and eighth-graders were essentially unchanged from 1996. The only significant change in average score results occurred at grade 12, where there was a three-point decline in students' average score.
In addition to these national results, the 2000 science assessment collected performance data for fourth- and eighth-graders who attended public schools in states and other jurisdictions that volunteered to participate.

View Table 1.