Congratulations fourth grade teachers. You've helped more students gain more science information than a decade ago. The 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress contains encouraging news. Accountability and assessments help to raise achievement levels, even in subjects not directly tested under the No Child Left Behind Act [NCLB].

Fourth-graders made significant improvements in science over 1996 and 2000 levels, with the lowest-performing students making the largest gains and achievement gaps narrowing.

However, eighth-graders showed no significant gains. And among 12th-graders, scores declined.

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