Archived Information

State of the Art: Science - September 1993

image omitted Setting science standards provides a valuable resource for improved instruction.

American education will be well served by an organized attempt to provide direction on a nationwide basis and to determine some of the important skills and knowledge that all students should master at key stages in their education, without trying to specify a national curriculum. 
                 (National Council on Education Standards and Testing, 1992)
To transform science instruction nationwide, reaching schools in the various districts and states, there needs to be agreement on what students ought to know, how it should be presented, and how to measure the results. The setting of science standards is underway through the work of the National Academy of Sciences through its National Research Council working with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Science Teachers Association, and other professional scientific societies and the broad constituencies they represent. Working groups are drafting standards for curriculum, teaching, and assessment. A consensus process is being followed to encourage broad review and discussion of the products of the groups with a final version planned for late 1994.

Rigorous standards will set the framework for what young Americans should know and be able to do when they leave school. States are making crucial systemic changes to reach these standards, including developing curriculum frameworks, improving assessments, and revising teacher certification and licensure requirements.

Research studies show that children who are in schools with high expectations and challenging curricula learn more than children who are in less demanding educational programs. Most students will work to meet whatever expectations their teachers and families have for them, however high, however low. In science, as in other important subjects, we need a clear consensus on what students should know.

The Statement of Principles on School Reform in Mathematics and Science from the U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation states that "all children should receive a challenging education in mathematics and science based on world-class standards beginning in kindergarten and continuing every year through grade 12."
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[Science is for all students.] [Table of Contents] [Students learn by "constructing" knowledge.]