Science - Trends in Year 5 science achievement 1994 to 2006

Conclusion

This report has examined trends in New Zealand science achievement at the Year 5 level from 1994 to 2006. It has looked at New Zealand Year 5 students’ science achievement in relation to other countries that participated in the study. An examination of the TIMSS assessment questions in relation to New Zealand’s science curriculum was presented along with analyses of achievement by sub-groupings (such as gender and ethnicity) and background factors. A statistical model that attempts to explain variations among students, classes, and schools using the background information discussed in this report was also described.

Achievement in science

Overall, the mean science achievement of New Zealand Year 5 students is about the same in 2006 as in 1994. Although an increase in mean science achievement was observed in 2002 relative to earlier years, this performance was not sustained in 2006. In terms of the distribution of science achievement across the range of scores, this is narrower in 2006 than in 1994. A positive aspect of this change are that fewer students are demonstrating very low achievement, but it also means a smaller proportion of New Zealand students are gaining very high scores. In international terms, New Zealand Year 5 science achievement is significantly higher than 13 of the 36 countries participating in TIMSS at the middle primary level, but significantly lower than 21 of the 36 countries.

Year 5 students continue to demonstrate relative strengths in aspects of science. They tend to perform relatively better on earth science questions compared to life and physical science. Students also perform relatively better on questions that involve demonstrating knowledge compared to questions that assess applying or reasoning.

Science instructional hours

There has been a change in the number of hours that teachers reported spending on science instruction with New Zealand Year 5 students since 2002. In 2006, the number of hours was significantly lower than in 2002. This reduction in the number of hours that students are engaged in science in the middle primary years is consistent with evidence from other studies that report on students' experiences of science the in classroom (e.g. NEMP).

Background characteristics

Both high and low performers were found among boys and girls, and in all ethnic groupings. On average, there was no difference in science achievement between boys and girls. However, some differences were observed among the ethnic groupings. Pākehā/European and Asian students had similar science achievement, on average, and their mean science achievement was higher, on average, than that of Māori and Pasifika students. Māori students had higher mean science achievement than Pasifika students.

In terms of other background characteristics, science achievement was higher, on average, among students who regularly spoke English at home. Similarly, students who were born in New Zealand had higher science achievement, on average, than those who were not. Students from higher socio-economic backgrounds tended to have higher mean science achievement than those from lower socio-economic backgrounds as evidenced by the proxy measures books in the home, items in the home, household size and mobility. In addition, the decile of the school they attended, indicative of the level of economic disadvantage in the community in which they live, was positively related to science achievement. That is, students in higher decile schools had higher achievement, on average, than students in lower decile schools. Year 5 students who reported a small or moderate amount of time in out-of-school leisure activities generally had higher achievement than those who reported no time or many hours on the activity.

Attitudes to science

New Zealand Year 5 students generally expressed positive attitudes towards science. Consistent with NEMP (Crooks, Smith, & Flockton, 2008), eight out of every ten students indicated that they would like to do more science in school. Those students who reported positive attitudes towards science or were confident in their own science abilities had higher achievement than those who were less positive or confident.

Boys and girls expressed similar attitudes to science, both in terms of enjoyment and motivation, and self-confidence. More Pākehā/European and students in the Other ethnic grouping reported high self-confidence in science compared with Asian, Māori, and Pasifika students. More students in the Other ethnic grouping reported positive attitudes towards science compared with Pākehā/European, Asian, Māori, and Pasifika students.

Final comment

The Ministry of Education’s current focus is on presence, engagement and achievement (Ministry of Education, 2007). The Ministry has in place a number of mechanisms for monitoring student performance in science in primary and secondary schooling at the system level. Performance in science reflects learning from within school, in family and whānau, and in the broader community. While overall there has been little change in the data on student achievement, the reduction in science teaching hours along with other changes and variations in achievement among groupings requires further attention.

This report has not examined all of the data collected in TIMSS. Further analyses will be undertaken including investigation of what is happening in science in schools from information collected from teachers and principals. Further reports will become available during 2009.