California Students National Ranking in Science and Math

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the only national representative and on-going assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas.  NAEP assessments are administered uniformly using the same set of test booklets across the nation.  Thus, NAEP results serve as a common metric for all states and selected urban districts.

The graphs below use data taken directly from the NAEP official site. As you can see, California ranks 46th in 8th grade math and almost last in science (note: in some cases not all 50 states are included - some states didn't have the data).

Clearly this is a disturbing situation for California and especially Silicon Valley, which prides itself on being the leading high-tech economic center in the US. If this trend is allowed to continue, California-based high-tech companies will continue to be forced look to elsewhere (other states and abroad) for innovators that will design and build tomorrow's world.