Articles

Urban students lag in science education

Public Agenda Alert
November 16, 2006

A new federal study released this week raises new concerns over science education in major urban school systems, but Public Agenda research raises questions about whether parents are hearing these warnings.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress reports that students in 10 major cities scored below the national average in elementary and middle school science tests. Only one of the urban districts matched the national average among fourth-graders, while students in all 10 fell behind in eighth grade testing. The students did better when compared to pupils in other large central cities and by ethnic and racial groups.

Business and science leaders have repeatedly called for a re-examination of science education, saying the U.S. risks falling behind the rest of the world. But in our series of Reality Check surveys on education, we found that most American parents are complacent about the science education their children get.

It isn't that parents doubt the value of math and science. Six in 10 say it's "crucial" for today's students to learn advanced math. But nearly as many, 57 percent, say the amount of math and science their children get is "about right."

Urban parents are slightly less likely to be satisfied with their child's math and science education. Only about half, 51 percent, say it's "about right," compared to 61 percent of suburban parents. Parents with children in elementary school are also less likely to say their child gets enough science (48 percent).

If anything, the level of concern among parents has declined since we first examined this topic in 1994. Back then, 52 percent of parents said a lack of math and science education was a "serious problem," compared to only 32 percent this year. Nearly two-thirds of parents say the material their children learn now is harder than what they learned when they were in school.

All of the 10 urban school systems have a majority of students from minority backgrounds, NAEP said. In many of the districts, minority students performed as well or better than the national average for their peers.

Reality Check shows that minority high school students are actually somewhat more likely to consider math and science education "absolutely essential" than white students (53 percent of minorities say this, compared to 48 percent of white students).

In addition, black students are much more likely to consider math and science a "serious problem" in their school (35 percent compared to 20 percent of whites). They're also more likely to say increasing math and science courses would improve their high school education. More than two-thirds of black students say this, compared to 54 percent of whites.

Overall, minority parents are more likely to doubt that students have learned the basics, with four in 10 saying they haven't, compared to 29 percent of white parents.

Find out more in Reality Check No. 1, "Are Parents and Students Ready for More Math and Science":
http://www.publicagenda.org/research/research_
reports_details.cfm?list=96

Read the National Assessment of Educational Progress report:
http://www.nationsreportcard.gov/tuda_science/

Read the Associated Press story:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/11/15/cityschoo
ls.science.ap/index.html

Copyright 2006 Public Agenda. More information: www.publicagenda.org.

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