The Executive Summary of this report provides a quick summary of overall results from the 2000 NAEP science assessment for the nation. Links are also provided to the document in its entirety and to smaller pieces of the document divided by chapter, etc.
From abstract: "Comparisons are made to performance in the previous national assessment in 1996 at grades 4, 8, and 12. Comparison data are given both within and across participating jurisdictions for 2000 at grade 4, and for 1996 and 2000 at grade 8... In addition, the report presents percentile distributions and demographic subgroup results, including results by gender, race/ethnicity, region of the country, type of school location, school type, and student eligibility for free/reduced-price school lunch. One chapter focuses on a second set of results that includes the performance of special-needs students who were permitted accommodations in the test administration, both in the national and state samples. The report presents information on contexts for learning science, including the use of computers for instruction and student coursework. The report also includes sample test questions and examples of student responses."