Utah students perform above national averages on science tests, the Nation's Report Card shows, but achievement gaps between student groups fluctuate.

The State Office of Education praises Utah's gains on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, whose science results were issued nationwide Wednesday. Officials otherwise are not overly concerned with results. The exam predates new national science standards, which Utah's core curriculum follows, and doesn't mirror what Utah students are learning. Utah's core curriculum test results also show steady growth — a goal of the state agency.

"I don't put a lot of stock in a sampling of our student population," particularly short of sharp rises or declines, curriculum director Brett Moulding said. "As we move to new national standards (in NAEP) . . . it will be interesting to me to see if our performance is more accurate."

NAEP (nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/) measures a sample of fourth-, eighth- and 12th-grade students in each state. About 6,000 students in Utah, and 300,000 nationwide, participated. The Nation's Report Card also includes reading and math results, which were released last October. New science scores are compared to those from 2000.

• In fourth-grade science, 74 percent of Utah students met the expectation of achieving at or above basic levels. Nationally, 66 percent of students have achieved that standard.

The achievement gap between average scaled scores of Utah Hispanics and whites also has narrowed — from 35 points to 26 points since 2000. Students with disabilities also showed a 9-point scaled score gain between 2000 and 2005.

"Here is some evidence that (Utah) is beginning to close some of the achievement gaps," State Superintendent of Public Instruction Patti Harrington said in a prepared statement. "More importantly, the gaps are closing because performance levels are being raised, not because standards are being lowered."

Still, only 45 percent of Utah's Hispanic fourth-graders achieved at or above basic levels, compared to 80 percent of whites.

• In eighth grade, 65 percent of students have met the expectation of achieving at or above basic levels. Nationally, 57 percent of students have hit the benchmark.

However, Utah scores — and national averages, for that matter — have dipped since 1996, when 70 percent of students were at or above basic.

The 28-point scaled-score achievement gap between whites and Hispanics is unchanged, and the scaled score gap between students eligible for free lunch and paying students has increased from 9 to 18 points since 1996, the report states.

• NAEP also examines 12th-grade achievement, but doesn't offer state data, State Office of Education spokesman Mark Peterson said. He says some states question the validity of test scores of seniors, for whom the test has little consequence.

But the Education Trust, a national group advocating for high academic achievement, calls the scores "worrisome," stating 46 percent of seniors performed below the basic level, similar to 2000 results.

The National Education Association says national results show schools are neglecting subjects such as science in favor of math and language arts — the cornerstones of No Child Left Behind.

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