In order to assess the level of science education in the pre-high school grades in New York City, citywide science surveys were developed and administered for the second year in May, 1985, at Grades 5 and 8. These instruments were designed to provide school, district, and citywide information about student achievement in the basic science curriculum which includes biology, earth science, physics, chemistry, and process skills. The purpose for collecting such data was to facilitate the planning of staff development in order to focus on areas of greatest need. A comparison of the citywide student performance on the 1984 and 1985 science surveys indicates a significant improvement in science achievement citywide at both Grades 5 and 8 as measured by the average percent of items correct. Grade 5 general education students answered 64 percent of the 60 items correctly in 1985, as compared to 56 percent of 42 items in 1984. Similarly, Grade 8 students answered 58 percent of 60 items correctly in 1985, an improvement over their 1984 performance of 52 percent of 41 items. These levels indicate that fifth graders almost met the anticipated criterion of 65 percent; eighth graders were somewhat below this criterion. The area students performed most poorly in was chemistry. (The report includes statistical tables of overall citywide results and results by district). (Author/KH)