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By Sue Pleming

 
WASHINGTON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Only one in five U.S. high school seniors has a good grasp of science and just under half do not have even a basic understanding of the subject, according to national test results released on Tuesday.

The "Nation's Report Card: Science 2000" by the Education Department's National Center for Education Statistics said there had been no improvement in average scores for science among 4th and 8th graders, and 12th graders had lower scores than in 1996 when the last test was conducted.

Only 16 percent of 12th graders -- high school seniors in their final year of school -- were proficient in the subject while 2 percent who took the 2000 test had an advanced understanding of science.

Thirty-four percent had a basic grasp while 47 percent did not even have this knowledge of the subject, the Education Department said.

Education Secretary Rod Paige voiced concern over the declining scores for 12th graders, in particular.

"After all, 12th-grade scores are the scores that really matter. If our graduates know less than their predecessors four years ago, then our hopes for a strong 21st century work force are dimming just when we need them most," Paige said.

Problems were not limited to any socioeconomic group and Paige said the latest science report card showed the scores of white students with educated parents and economic advantages in public schools had declined by 12th grade.

"Every group should do better but the ones we might be complacent about actually have declining scores," he said.

FOREIGNERS FILL THE GAP

He complained that instead of improving its own science education, America had been importing foreign workers to do specialized jobs, especially in the high-tech industry.

"There's something wrong when foreign workers are getting jobs in America because we failed to teach American graduates the skills," he said.

In 1999, the Immigration and Naturalization Service granted 115,000 H-1B visas to foreign workers and Congress increased that visa cap to 195,000 last year, said Paige, to meet the demand of America's high-tech industry.

"Instead of improving our own science education, we have been relying on the education other countries provide to their citizens," he said.

There have long been complaints that many teachers are not suitably qualified to teach science and the survey found that 8th graders whose teachers majored in science education had higher scores than those who did not.

The National Science Teachers Association said it was disheartened by the results, pointing out that teachers were struggling to focus the nation's attention on the importance of science education and the changes needed to reform it.

"You can't expect to see big changes in student achievement when we haven't made big changes in the way students learn science," NSTA President Harold Pratt said in a statement.

In grade 4, 29 percent of the students performed at or above the "proficient" achievement level, unchanged from 1996. In grade 8, there was a slight improvement in scores with 32 percent getting proficient scores compared with 29 percent in 1996.

The science tests are part of a series of tests given every four years by the Education Department in math, science, reading and writing. They are intended to show what children know and can do and cover a range of issues.

14:57 11-20-01

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