Source: Los Angeles Times
Across the state, 29.9% of students met or exceeded the new science standards on this first test, with fluctuations according to grade level. High school students must take the test once between 10th and 12th grade.
There was a spike in 11th grade scores, with about 30% proficiency, but overall high school students did worse than younger students.
Low-income students and black students had especially low scores, a pattern also seen in the state’s math and English assessments. On the science test, only about 3% of English learners and 8% of students with disabilities demonstrated proficiency.
“The scores show that we’re continuing to fail students and we’re failing the same students who historically we always have,” said Elisha Smith Arrillaga, executive director of the Oakland-based research and advocacy nonprofit Education Trust-West. “What actually makes it more egregious is that we’re in a state that is this bastion of technological advancement. … We’re not connecting the dots between the tech world and what we see in classrooms.”
