U.S. Department of Education: Promoting Educational Excellence for all Americans

A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Research on Science Education

 
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Slide 11

Typical U.S. State Standard

Speaker's notes explaining chart:

The next chart is a typical curriculum mapping from state standards in the U.S. Notice that every topic is introduced in every grade. There is no hierarchical sequence. The same topics that are covered in 1st grade spiral through the subsequent grades and are still being taught in 8th grade. This pattern has led critics to characterize the U.S. science standards as a mile wide and an inch deep.

Schmidt, W.H., Wang, H.C., McKnight, C.C. (In press) Curriculum Coherence: An Examination of US Mathematics and Science Content Standards From An International Perspective. Journal of Curriculum Studies.