The National Assessment of Educational Progress released its scores on science exams given to 8th graders. Overall, reports the Wall St. Journal, “32% of students were proficient in science, compared with 30% the first time the new version of the science exam was administered, in 2009.” Gerry Wheeler, Executive Director of the National Science Teachers Association, finds the results “deeply disappointing.”
From the Journal:

The Obama administration and some state leaders, including the Republican governors of New Jersey and Iowa, in recent years have pushed districts to alter union contracts to allow higher salaries for teachers in sciences and other hard-to-staff subjects. Christopher Cerf, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s education commissioner, said the “market” for science teachers is highly competitive so schools should “use compensation creatively to maximize outcomes for kids.” Teachers have insisted that pay changes be made only as part of broader contract negotiations, giving them more input into the process.

According to the Star-Ledger, New Jersey’s scores show us to be “in the middle of the pack nationally in science,” with 34% of NJ 8^thgraders proficient or advanced proficient…Twenty-one states had higher average scores than New Jersey.”

 In a press release, Ed. Comm. Chris Cerf said that the results of the NAEP science test show that “New Jersey students continue to do well by nearly every objective measure compared to the rest of the country, but we still have more work to do to ensure that every student in New Jersey has the knowledge and skills necessary to be ready for the demands of the 21st century.” He added,

 In spite of these overall trends, there exists a 29 point achievement gap between high- and low-income students, which gives New Jersey the 9th highest achievement gap in the country in 8th grade science on the NAEP exam.

Here’s the official NAEP report.