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Modest gains, but US students still lag in science learning

Classroom (FILE PHOTO)

WASHINGTON — American students still have a ways to go when it comes to achieving a solid understanding of science.

The 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress, often called the Nation's Report Card, shows only about a third of fourth and eighth graders demonstrated strong academic performance in the sciences. Among 12th graders, just one in five were proficient or above in science.

LINK: Test yourself using NAEP questions

Results released Thursday show average scores were up four points in grades 4 and 8, and unchanged for 12th grade, compared to 2009.

The results also show that fourth-grade girls had closed the gender gap and were now performing as well as boys. In eighth grade, that gender gap had tightened. Achievement gaps between white, black and Hispanic students narrowed, too, at grades four and eight.

The average NAEP science scores for the nation increased 4 points between 2009 and 2015 at both grades 4 and 8, but did not change significantly at grade 12.

In North Carolina, 4th graders did about the same as the national average, while 8th graders scored a little lower than the national average.