Only about one-fifth of America’s high school seniors are proficient in science, and the rates of proficiency are even lower among minority students, according to the results of a national science assessment released Tuesday.
The 2009 Science National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) at Grades 4, 8 and 12 shows that only 34 percent of fourth-graders, 30 percent of eighth-graders and a strikingly low 21 percent of high school seniors performed at or above the proficient level in science.
Racial and ethnic disparities in science proficiency were present at all three grade levels, but the gaps at the 12th grade level show—perhaps more than anything else—the degree to which those disparities might manifest themselves among diverse groups of students at the college and university level.
Whereas 27 percent of all White high school seniors were at or above proficient in science and 36 percent of all Asian/Pacific Islander high school seniors were above proficiency, an alarmingly low 4 percent of all Black high school seniors, 8 percent of all Hispanic students and 13 percent of all American Indian/Alaska Native high school seniors were proficient in science, results from the NAEP show.
Higher education specialists say the racial and ethnic gaps in science proficiency among high school seniors should move colleges and universities to step up their efforts to improve science training and education for minority students in order for minorities to have a better chance of securing jobs in the fields of science and technology.
“It is very disturbing to see more pronounced gaps at basic science proficiency in 12th grade, and that so few Black and Hispanic students are proficient at the most basic level,” said Dr. Sylvia Hurtado, Professor and Director of the Higher Education Research at UCLA, in a statement to Diverse.
“This suggests that higher education has a lot of talent development to do,” Hurtado said. “We need to redouble efforts to build competency in science to diversify the scientific workforce and better position students to take advantage of developing science and technology jobs.”
