MIAMI-DADE 4TH AND 8TH GRADERS OUTPERFORM STUDENTS IN
MAJOR U.S. CITIES IN SCIENCE

MIAMI- Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) students outperformed students in many major U.S. cities in the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Trial Urban District Report (TUDA) in science.  Results for the science exams paralleled the outstanding results reported for mathematics and reading.

“Miami-Dade once again moved the needle in an admirable way,” said Superintendent of Schools Alberto M. Carvalho.  “If this were the Olympics, Miami-Dade would have received a gold medal in reading, a silver medal in mathematics and now a bronze medal in science.”

M-DCPS 4th and 8th grade students received higher scores students in large city schools nationwide on the NAEP Science assessment. M-DCPS 4th grade students scored better than most of the other large districts in the study including New York City, Houston, Atlanta, and Chicago. 

M-DCPS 8th grade students scored better than similar students in most of the other large districts in the study , including Boston, New York City, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Chicago. 

M-DCPS 4th and 8th grade Hispanic students outperformed their counterparts nationwide in public schools and in large city schools in all reported measures (average scores, the percentage scoring at or above Basic, and at or above Proficient).

Results on this national science assessment reflected the achievement of M-DCPS students, which is not typically revealed through the state’s FCAT Science.   Overall, 71 percent of M-DCPS 4th grade students and 62 percent of 8th grade students scored at or above Basic on the 2009 NAEP Science assessment.

The 2009 administration was the school district’s first year in the Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) program, which directly compares the achievement of students in large urban districts that face similar challenges with regard to poverty and high risk populations.  The districts that participated in the NAEP/TUDA science include Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Fresno, Houston, Jefferson County (KY), Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New York City, Philadelphia, San Diego and Miami. 

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11-JJS/037/DF

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