State Science 2000 Report Cards

The 2000 NAEP program included state-level assessments in mathematics and science at grades 4 and 8, and national-level assessments in reading at grade 4, as well as mathematics and science at grades 4, 8, and 12. The NAEP assessment was administered at the state level for the first time in 1990. The first state science assessments were given at grade 8 in 1996. In 2000, both grades 4 and 8 were assessed. Both the 1996 and 2000 assessments were based on the same science assessment framework.

The state reports and their companion, The Nation's Report Card: Science Highlights 2000, provide a look at the main results of the NAEP 2000 Science assessment. Each participating jurisdiction receives its own customized state report, as seen here. The Nation's Report Card: Science Highlights 2000 offers data for all participating states and additional national data. The NAEP Data Tool provides information for all jurisdictions for which results are reported in 2000 and allows the user not only to develop custom data tables, but also to perform appropriate tests of statistical significance for within- or across-state data comparisons.

Within each state report the Key Findings section on the first page provides the reader with a quick overview of the basic results. The Introduction provides information on the NAEP program, the sample of students assessed (public schools only), the metrics for reporting student performance, and how the differences in performance are reported. The subsequent sections, Overall Results, Comparisons Between States, and Performance by Demographic Characteristics relate the findings for both 4^th and 8^th grade students. This information is presented in data tables, maps, and bar charts.

In addition, this report contains a second set of results -- those that include data for special-needs students (i.e., students with disabilities and students who are limited English proficient) who participated in the assessment with accommodations. Average scale scores for each participating state or jurisdiction are provided for both sets of results (accommodations not permitted and accommodations permitted).