The State of State Science Standards 2005 appraised the quality of statewide K-12 science standards required to be in place this school year by the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. Adopting new science standards is the first step leading to NCLB science testing required in every state by 2007.
Fifteen states flunked, seven earned a “D” grade and eight were given a “C” by a panel of science professors who reviewed state science standards. The study was sponsored by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a conservative think tank that supports toughening school standards.
The remaining 19 states, which educate just over half of U.S. students, earned grades of “A” or “B”, with California, Virginia, Massachusetts, South Carolina and Indiana in the top five. Idaho, Texas, Wisconsin, Alaska and Kansas received the lowest marks.
“Certainly some states do an awful job addressing evolution, but for the most part these states also do an awful job addressing the rest of science.” — Well, duh!
hmmmmmm glad to see Tennessee as number eight……kinda dispels some myths…
Oh by the way…..
Evolution is a “theory” not proven fact…
I see nothing wrong with equal time for other theories……
But I doubt than any of * these particular * “theories” (including evolution) have any real relevance to science…
…
I have a theory that people who dismiss evolution because it’s a theory don’t understand the scientific definition of theory.
Seems like the people doing the work are not all that bright either.
15 states flunked.
7 got a D
8 got a C
“Of the remaining 19 states……”
Last time I looked there were 50 states not 49.
“I have a theory, that it’s a demon! A dancing demon, hmm.. something can’t be right there.”
If it meets the scientific definition of a theory (real world, not Kansas) then I have no problem with its being taught. I also have no problem with people poking holes in the theory of evolution; they’re not that big, and the whole point of a theory is to try and disprove it.
However, equal time for all theories would be idiotic. Time should be proportional to the existing evidence.
– ME –
Too many teachers have a general education degree.
Science teachers should have a background in science, then teach them how to explain it to students.
Too much of an education degree is spent teaching teachers how to lobby the students or get them interested. How `bout students also getting off their collective asses & getting motivated.
Asian & Indian teachers don’t spend time learning how to motivate students, just how to teach. They get people who know the subject, then teach them how to teach it to others. US education teaches you how to teach…a subject that you have a general knowledge in. You learn how to teach 1st, then learn the subject. That’s back asswards!
The motivation for students should be, “Do you want to eat someday after you move out of your parents’ house @ age 35?” I learned because, if not, the options were joblessness & hunger. Shit, the options were that WITH an education if you weren’t careful. No teacher had to convince me. Also, the threat of my father’s foot being lodged in my ass also got me burning the midnight oil. When you hit 18, you were on your own.
American parents are raising a generation of spoiled brats. Add in a majority of mediocre former students becoming educators & you have a recipe for stupidity. The best & brightest tend not to become teachers, & if they do, they’re generally not very liked by the dunces that go into teaching. Teaching is not an attractive career choice for the smartest Americans. Low pay, kids who don’t want to learn, stupid parents who think you’re stupid for teachin &/or disrespect the profession, & lots of paperwork. It’s a crappy job.
Where do I not sign up?
Introducing other theories is fine, but the focus should be on what we have best. And Intelligent Design is not a scientific theory.
Oh! Look! That’s complex as hell! Must be a damn smart designer!!
I recently did a real crappy piece of code that too too long to do too little and was way too complicated to understand.
I presented it to a fundamentalist friend of mine as proof of intelligent design, after all he couldn’t understand it – ergo Jesus must have done it.
I want them to teach the theory of Incompetent Design. Found it today on Daily Kos. Brilliant.
Screw Science teaching… We need better Math teachers. Once we have that problem nailed down THEN we can deal with the Science teachers
#4 Brian,
Article in link says Iowa did not submit their results in time for the study deadline, and therefore they were not included.
When I went to high school in the early ’70s, students who wanted to learn math and science just needed to sign up for them. Students that wanted to coast to graduation signed up for shop. The standards at the time pretty much let you do either. I thought it odd that of the 18 credits needed to graduate, only 1.5 credits in math or science was required. Stranger still was that even though 3 English credits were needed to graduate, only 0.5 credits of grammar were even taught. Still, the system seemed to work ok for me; I tested out of my first year of college.
My younger brother, on the other hand, was an average student who enlisted in the Air Force when he graduated. I remember reading a letter he sent while in Boot Camp to our mother. No capitalization to start a sentence and no period to end it. I had to decipher his meaning. (Strangely, my mother had no problem at all understanding it.)
My thought at the time: “He graduated from the same school I did!”
Are the schools really so much worse today?
While I have no love of Kansas with regard to education standards, I do have to wonder why it’s at the bottom of the list when it actually scored a 65. (This would put it right in the middle)
– ME –
Well… LOL… as to understanding what a theory is…. I have used electron theory for the past 25 years. I think that qualifies me for knowing not only what a theory is, I actually use it as a working premise daily! You misunderstand me.
I am questioning the usefulness of *any* of the origin theories…
Other than a reason to divide us… and keep us from discussing issues we can directly affect.
I have my personal beliefs as to our origins and you can’t change them. You have your beliefs regarding origin of the species, I can’t change them.
Could we not expend our energies in a better fashion?
Tim: Just because not everyone is going to believe in evolution doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be taught. Science class isn’t designed to sway your beliefs, it’s designed to teach science. The best science we have today says evolution is the most likely origin of man, and the subject is of legitimate scientific interest. You can accept it, you can ignore it, or you can find no conflict between it and whatever personal beliefs you have. But this is what science says, and that’s what the class should teach.
Allen: I would argue the big flaw in schools’ teaching of the scientific method is that they omit the most important part: peer review.
I understand “Incompetent Design.” I once drove a Chevy Cavalier.
I was taught how to read and then some arithmetic in school. That is the total extent of 12 years of education that I still use today. How many other people were taught something in their 12 years that they use today?
But I had several teachers that encouraged me to learn. And learn I have. I have learned to think about a book, not just recite what the author was trying to say. I have learned to think about whether 50% off something I don’t need or want is a bargain. I have learned to read between the lines when the White House makes a pronouncement. I have learned why adding water to the fuel mixture will not improve my gas mileage.
I have learned that just teaching the basics is not an education. The best teachers are not the ones who could teach. The best are the ones who can get their students to learn. Having a Masters in Biology will not help anyone teach grade 9 physics. You might know a lot more about nucleotides and RNA, but do you understand where Brother Mendall’s pea experiments (which predate Darwin) fit into Crick and Watson’s hypothesis.
Would everyone just stop, get off the teachers backs about how to teach, and let them to once again encourage their kids to LEARN.
Obviousman
I understand. I was once hit by a Cavalier with no brakes. Was your Cavalier half white, half rust?