SCIENTIFIC DATA: The average eighth-grader's science score increased by two points from 2009 (from 150 to 152, out of a possible 300), according the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress, which just released science scores last Thursday. (The test was given to 122,000 eighth-graders representing public, private, and other types of schools.) No state showed a decline in test scores, according to the press release, although others noted that English-learners still "significantly trail" their English-speaking peers.
