massachusetts – GOLLYGEE!

We are often told that American students aren’t excelling at science and math. What we never hear is that some school systems are in fact doing an excellent job in education our future generations. Massachusetts happens to be on state that excels. The new results from the Trends in Mathematics & Science Study, or TIMSS, reveal that Massachusetts students score highly in math and science. Only Singapore scored higher than Massachusetts in Science. And five countries scored higher than Massachusetts in math. The state performance was higher than any other in the U.S. It should be noted that not all countries participate this assesment. See the excerpt from WBUR for links to the test results:

Massachusetts eighth-graders are among the smartest in the world when it comes to math and science, according to a new study of academic performance.

The state’s eighth-graders ranked second in science and sixth in math, respectively, in theTrends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). More than half a million students from 63 countries participated in the test.

Only Singapore outscored the state’s eighth-graders on the science (PDF) part of the exam.

In the math section (PDF), Massachusetts students were outscored by test-takers from South Korea, Singapore, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Hong Kong and Japan.

A giant swallowtail, once found only in subtropical and warm temporate regions, is now becoming a common sight in Massachusetts.

Up north that is. Climate change is driving butterflies that were once only seen in Southern US states farther to the north. A study in Massachusetts has found an increase in the population of butterfly species that were once only found in the southern US. They also found that populations of species that were once abundant in Northern states like Massachusetts are now in decline especially in warmer low altitude regions. From Nature:

Of the 21 northern species, 17 were declining, one was increasing and three did not show significant trends through time…

Further along in the article we get this bit of information:

[W]e identified species that had recently expanded their ranges by comparing our species list with the Massachusetts Butterfly Atlas (MBA; ref. 17), compiled between 1986 and 1990. Of the 100 estimated population trajectories, 14 were from species that were very rare or not reported in the atlas (four or fewer reports). Of these, 12 have southerly ranges, one has a northerly range and one is near its range core. The species with a northerly range was the only one in decline, whereas the 12 with southerly ranges were all increasing. Many of these growing populations are new to the state and represent invasions from the south (Fig. 1). Declining northern species are being replaced by warm temperate and subtropical species such as the giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) and zabulon skipper (Poanes zabulon)¹⁸. Permutation tests indicate that this pattern of increase by historically (1980s) rare southern species is highly significant (p = 0.0003).

The article is very interesting. Head over to Nature to read more.

GOLLYGEE!

Tag: massachusetts

massachusetts eighth graders score well in science & math

butterflies are moving on up