2/25/2011 12:00:00 PMCleveland schools at bottom of national science rankings, take steps to improve

February 25, 2011, 5:55 AM   

By Thomas Ott, The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- An analysis of 2009 science test scores in 17 major U.S. urban districts ranks Cleveland near the bottom. Cleveland beat out only Detroit on fourth-grade tests given nationwide, according to results released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics. The district's eighth-graders topped peers in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Detroit.

The scores are among results released periodically through the "Nation's Report Card," based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Cleveland and 16 other urban systems volunteer to make their data public.

"It's a matter of accountability; we're not going to hide," said Eric Gordon, the Cleveland schools' chief academic officer. "This data is not good news. We have a lot of work to do." The report not only compares the 17 districts' scores, it puts them up against those of students in all cities with populations of at least 250,000, as well as the nation as a whole.

Most of the 17 districts did not fare well against the rest of the country on the science tests. In Cleveland, 70 percent of the fourth-graders and 74 percent of the eighth-graders failed to achieve basic proficiency.

Updates in the science test prevent comparison with past results, according to the government report. Gordon said Cleveland has taken steps that he hopes will boost scores in 2012, the next time the exams will be given.

The district has aligned instruction in various subjects in all of its schools, so students who frequently move can stay on track. Cleveland also has invested in science learning materials in the middle grades.

Cleveland students have made gains on Ohio science tests, said Gordon, though he would not classify the increases as strong.