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December 16, 2005
Science standards need workNearly half the states are doing a poor job of setting high academic standards for science in public schools, according to a new report that examined science in anticipation of 2007, when states will be required to administer tests in the subject under No Child Left Behind, the New York Times reports. The report, from our close friends over at the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, offers a snappy description we kinda' like: "Science education in America is under attack, with 'discovery learning' on one flank and the Discovery Institute on the other."
Written by pre-eminent biologist Paul R. Gross, The State of State Science Standards finds that even though the majority of states have reworked, or crafted from scratch, their science standards over the past five years, we're no better off now than before.
The report cited mounting "religious and political pressures" over the last five years as undermining the teaching of evolution. But Gross said in an interview with the Times that a willingness by schools in Kansas and elsewhere to consider alternative theories to evolution was only a small part of a "larger cultural problem." The Times adds:
Gross said that more critical has been a retreat from an emphasis on all science instruction, which is leaving students ungrounded in basic subjects like biology, human physiology and the environment.
Many of the standards are easily fixed. More involvement by bench scientists, and better editing, could greatly improve what's out there, the report suggests. Plus, there are a number of excellent models to follow (California, Massachusetts, and South Carolina, for example). "The public's anxiety about the future of our nation's scientific prowess is palpable—and reasonable," the report offers. More info here.
Posted December 16, 2005 3:47 PM
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