SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today issued the following statement about the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Science 2005 Report, which tested students in grades four and eight:

"I am pleased to see that on this report card for science achievement, California's fourth and eighth graders showed the largest increases in the nation. While this is encouraging, we have much work to do to improve student proficiency in science if California is to lead in an era that increasingly demands higher levels of scientific knowledge. We've taken steps to focus more strongly on science instruction by expanding standards-based professional development for teachers to include science, and by adding science to our California Standards Tests for students in grades five, eight, and ten. The state is also in the process of adopting new instructional materials in science. In addition, the California Mathematics and Science Grant Program funds several partnerships aimed at developing knowledge and instructional strategies of California teachers.

"While significant achievement gains were made by Hispanic and Asian students, there remains an unacceptable achievement gap that shows ethnic minorities, particularly African American students, and socio-economically disadvantaged students lagging behind. We must focus strongly on closing that gap while aiming to increase the achievement of all groups of California students."

Results of the NAEP science tests are posted online at The Nation's Report Card [http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/] (Outside Source).