Results show students failing to fire in science

Science results among Australian students have risen only slightly since 2015, according to new data.

Generic stock image education Schoolchildren and Teacher in Science Class

Science results among Australian students have risen only slightly since 2015, according to new data from the Australian Curriculum Assessment and ­Reporting Authority.

The body, which will hand down the findings of its latest ­national assessment on Thursday, says the fact Year 6 students achieved their best results since the testing began in 2003 ­indicates overall levels of science literacy are improving.

National testing conducted in October and November 2018 ­reveal that 58 per cent of the Year 6 students who attempted the science examination ­attained the proficient standard, which was a small improvement on 2015 when only 55 per cent of students achieved that level.

Year 6 students with parents who work as senior managers or professionals performed better than those with parents who were recorded as unskilled ­labourers, or office, sales or service staff, achieving an average scale score 66 points higher than their counterparts.

The 2018 average score for Year 6 indigenous students was higher than the average scores of indigenous students in the 2012 and 2009 assessments. However, the average score of 339 achieved by indigenous students in Year 6 lagged the 412 score ­average recorded by their non-indigenous peers.

A similar trend could be seen among Year 10 indigenous students, with their average score of 408 behind the 494 average of non-indigenous ­students. “The percentage of Year 10 indigenous students that ­attained the proficient standard in 2018 was 20 per cent compared with 51 per cent of non-­indigenous students,” the report reads.

Students who speak English at home performed marginally better than those who speak ­another language with their parents, achieving an average score of 411 instead of 398. No difference was observed between the two groups for Year 10.

A significant divide was noticeable in the results achieved by Year 6 and Year 10 students attending schools located in major cities when compared with other areas.

“The pattern of results indicates that Year 6 students attending schools located in major cities perform significantly better than students attending schools in all other geographic locations,” the report reads.

“Year 10 students from major cities also perform significantly better than students from both remote and very remote areas.”

There was “very little ­variation” in the average score of year 6 students within each state and territory since 2006, but the average result for students in Queensland was significantly higher than all previous cycles.