Science Not Very Golden

Oct 16, 12:46 PM

Current Headlines: By Hillary Chabot, The Sun, Lowell, Mass.

Oct. 16--BOSTON -- Much like their fellow students across the state, local high-school students are struggling with a new science MCAS test that they will have to pass in order to graduate.

Only about half of the students who took the science MCAS scored proficient or above, according to results released yesterday.

"The 2007 results show that we are still a ways from our goal of all students performing proficiently in science and technology/engineering," said Acting Education Commissioner Jeffrey Nellhaus.

Passing the test will be a graduation requirement for the class of 2010, so this year's sophomore class must pass the test in order to graduate. (Students can retake the test in their junior and senior years if necessary.)

About two-thirds of Greater Lowell students, as well as students statewide, passed the science exam.

While 61 percent of Tyngsboro High School students received proficient or better, 86 percent passed the test. Tyngsboro Academic Dean Sarah Lewenczuk said the school did well for its first

time.

"We're looking to get our feet planted a little more firmly when it comes to biology, but I think we're ready to look at the information and move on with the rest of our students." Lewenczuk said.

Freshmen and sophomores took the test last spring, for a total of about 100,000 students from across the state. More than 7,100 of the 39,000 freshmen who took the test last spring failed.

Students can choose from four different fields of science, such as biology, chemistry, physics, or engineering and technology, as the subject matter of their test. They usually take a test in whatever science course they took that year.

Because both 10th- and ninth-grade students took the test, the type of science test varies depending on what courses the students were taking that year. The state did not break down results by grade for each school, but 81 percent of freshmen passed the test statewide, and 69 percent of sophomores passed.

Tenth-graders were required to take it last year, and ninth-graders were encouraged to take it for practice.

The MCAS is part of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which strives to get all children well-versed in math, English, science and social studies by 2014.

The worst scores were reflected in urban cities, including Lowell, which had a 53 percent failing rate in biology.

Wendy Jack, director of curriculum at Lowell High School, said the school is working to give struggling students two years of biology to help with the test.

"We still have a lot of work to do in that area," Jack said. "We're not thrilled, but we do feel more confident about students passing biology on the first try."

About 40 percent of Lowell High School students passed the biology test, but 67 percent and 62 percent of students passed chemistry and physics, respectively.

Lowell High even topped the state average on chemistry. While 39 percent of students failed statewide, 33 percent of Lowell High students failed.

Some local schools scored extremely high on the new test. Concord-Carlisle students, for example, had 71 percent of their students receive an advanced score on chemistry. Zero percent of Wilmington students failed the technology test.

"We've been trying to build projects that incorporate the basic principles of physics," said Wilmington High School Principal Eric Tracy. "Our goals are higher than the state standards, and our kids do well because their teachers have a good understanding of what to focus on in the curriculum without dwelling on MCAS."

Vocational-technical schools are also a concern. Among those schools, 65 percent passed the science exam and 21 percent scored proficient or higher. Locally, Shawsheen Valley Technical High School in Billerica surpassed the state average, with 45 percent scoring proficient or above.

Greater Lowell Technical High School in Tyngsboro and Nashoba Valley Technical High School in Westford both fell under the state average, with 18 and 19 scoring proficient or above, respectively.

As schools scramble to boost results for the new science MCAS test, they'll have to prepare for yet another test that will become a graduation requirement for the class of 2012 -- social science.

"It's going to be pretty hard," Lowell High School's Jack said. "We're going to do our best, but from the students' point of view, it can be pretty disheartening if they spend their whole school day in support classes."

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