Distribution of Science Questions: 2019

Science Content Areas

Percentage distribution of target and actual assessment time in NAEP science, by content area and grade: 2019

Grade	Physical Science		Life Science		Earth and Space Sciences
	Target	Actual	Target	Actual	Target	Actual
4	33%	33%	33%	35%	33%	32%
8	30%	32%	30%	28%	40%	40%
12	38%	41%	38%	35%	25%	24%
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2019 Science Assessment.

Science Practices

Percentage distribution of target and actual assessment time in NAEP science, by science practice and grade: 2019

Grade	Identifying Science Principles		Using Science Principles		Using Scientific Inquiry		Using Technological Design
	Target	Actual	Target	Actual	Target	Actual	Target	Actual
4	30%	32%	30%	28%	30%	33%	10%	8%
8	25%	35%	35%	33%	30%	27%	10%	5%
12	20%	29%	40%	37%	30%	27%	10%	8%
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2019 Science Assessment.

The tables above show the percentage of time students in grades 4, 8, and 12 would have spent on NAEP items that measure knowledge of three science content areas (Physical Science, Life Science, and Earth and Space Sciences) and four science practices (Identifying Science Principles, Using Science Principles, Using Scientific Inquiry, and Using Technological Design), if they responded to all items in the NAEP science assessment.