[sac-forum] Re: Ariz. students struggle on 1st science AIMS test

It's a case of teachers having to "teach to the test". Before science came on to the AIMS test, it just wasn't taught so it will take some time to get kids up to passing the science portion of the test. 
Jennifer
----- Original Message ----- From: "Jack Jones" <telescoper@xxxxxxx> 
To: "AZ SAC Forum" <sac-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, September 21, 2008 5:52 PM
Subject: [sac-forum] Ariz. students struggle on 1st science AIMS test




Ariz. students struggle on 1st science AIMS test
Failure rate on state science test shows need for improvement

by Ofelia Madrid - Sept. 17, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
The first round of statewide science testing shows Arizona students' science knowledge lags far behind their achievement in math, reading and writing.
The state's first science AIMS test was administered in the spring. Statewide results, released today, show that more than 60 percent of high-school students failed.
Numbers were slightly better in the earlier grades, where about half of fourth- and eighth-grade students passed the exam.
The results of the exam officially known as Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards are used by the federal government to measure whether schools are achieving under the No Child Left Behind Act.
In high school, 38 percent of students passed the new science portion of the test. Students did better in the test's other areas: 67 percent passed math, 68 percent passed writing and 73 percent passed reading on their first try this spring.
"This shows that schools need to be teaching our students more science," said Tom Horne, Arizona superintendent of public instruction.
Horne said the scores came in about where he expected. But he expects science scores to be higher in the future as teachers increase science instruction by incorporating it into other subjects.

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