The Vermont Agency of Education says statewide average science scores have dropped slightly.
44 percent of fourth graders scored proficient or higher, down 3 percentage points from 2013. In eighth grade, 25 percent met the standard, a drop of 7 percentage points. And 30 percent of 11th graders were proficient or higher, which is 1 percentage point lower than last year.
Education Secretary Rebecca Holcombe says while some individual schools are doing very well, "we are not satisfied with these scores."
She said Thursday that the average scores have not improved over several years, which suggests that science instruction may be getting squeezed out in some places due to the emphasis on English language arts and math in the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
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