2012 State of State Science Standards FINAL[1]

8/3/2019 2012 State of State Science Standards FINAL[1]

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The State oState ScienceStandards2012

FOREWORD BY CHESTER E. FINN, JR., AND KATHLEEN PORTER-MAGEE

State reviews by Lawrence S. Lerner,Ursula Goodenough, John Lynch,Martha Schwartz, and Richard SchwartzNAEP review by Paul R. Gross


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THE STATE OF STATE SCIENCE STANDARDS

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Alabama. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Arizona. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Colorado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Connecticut. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Delaware. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

DistrictofColumbia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Georgia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Hawaii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Idaho. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

Illinois. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Kansas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Massachusetts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Michigan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Minnesota. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98

Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Montana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Nebraska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Nevada. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

NewHampshire . . . . . . . . 120

NewJersey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

NewMexico. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127

NewYork. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

NorthCarolina. . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

NorthDakota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Oklahoma. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Pennsylvania. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

RhodeIsland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

SouthCarolina . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

SouthDakota. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Tennessee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Utah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Vermont. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179

Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

WestVirginia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .191

Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Wyoming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

NAEP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Appendix A:

Methods, Criteria,

and Grading

Metric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Appendix B:

Detailed Grades,

2012. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

About the

Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216


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By Chester E. Finn, Jr., andKathleen Porter-Magee

SinceSputnikshotintoorbitin1957,Americanshave

consideredscienceeducationtobevitaltoournational

securityandeconomiccompetitiveness.Theimpactofthe

SovietsatellitelaunchonAmericanscienceclassrooms

wasalmostimmediate.ShirleyMalcolm,aleaderinthe

eldofscienceeducation(andpresentlyheadofeducation

programsfortheAmericanAssociationfortheAdvancement

ofScience),wasayoungstudentinAlabamaatthetime.She

describedtheswiftandpalpableshiftinthewaysciencewas

taught:

We stopped having throwaway science and started

having real scienceAll o a sudden everybody was

talking about it, and science was above the old in the

newspaper, and my teachers went to institutes and

really got us all engaged. It was just a time o incredible

intensity and attention to science.1

Theimpactonpublicopinionwasjustasprofoundand

nationalconcernoverthequalityofAmericanscience,and

scienceeducation,hascontinuedforthepasthalfcentury.

Accordingtoa2011survey,74percentofAmericansthink

STEM(Science,Technology,Engineering,andMath)

educationisveryimportant.Onlytwopercentsayitsnot

tooimportant.2

1CorneliaDean,WhenScienceSuddenlyMattered,inSpaceandinClass,

New York Times,September25,2007,http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/25/

science/space/25educ.html?pagewanted=all .

2Research!America,Your Congress-Your Health: National Public Opinion

Poll(Alexandria,VA:Research!America,March2011), http://www.

yourcongressyourhealth.org/admin/Editor/assets/yourcongress2011.pdf .

Yetthisstrongconvictionhasnottranslatedintostrong

scienceachievement.The2009NationalAssessmentofEducationalProgress(NAEP)foundbarelyone-thirdof

fourthgradersintheUnitedStatesatorabovetheprocient

levelinscience,withthoseproportionsslippingto30percent

ineighthgradeandawoeful21percentintwelfthgrade. 3

Anotherrecentstudyreportedthatjust30percentofour

highschoolgraduatesarepreparedforcollege-levelworkin

science.4

Internationalcomparisonisevenmoredisheartening.The

mostrecentPISAassessment,releasedinDecember2010,

showedfteen-year-oldsintheUnitedStatesrankinga

mediocretwenty-thirdoutofsixty-vecountries.Bycontrast,

youngstersinShanghairankedrst,demonstratingboth

Chinascommitmenttoscienceeducationandthevarious

bountiesthataccompanyitandthatnationscapacityto

deliveronitseducationalaspirations.

Similarly,onthe2007TIMSSscienceassessment,American

eighthgradersoverallrankedeleventhoutofforty-eight

nationsandweretrouncednotonlybythelikesofSingapore

andJapan,butalsobytheCzechRepublic,Hungary,and

Slovenia.5Evenmoredistressing,only10percentofAmerican

3

InstituteofEducationSciences,Science 2009: National Assessment ofEducational Progress at Grades 4, 8, and 12(Washington,D.C.:NationalCenter

forEducationStatistics,January2011), http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/

pdf/main2009/2011451.pdf.

4ACT,Inc.,The Condition of College & Career Readiness(IowaCity,IA:ACT,

Inc.,2011),http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/cccr11/readiness1.

html.

5PatrickGonzalez,Highlights from TIMSS 2007: Mathematics and Science

Achievement of U.S. Fourth- and Eighth-Grade Students in an International

Context(Washington,D.C.:NationalCenterforEducationStatistics,

September2009),http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2009/2009001.pdf.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/25/science/space/25educ.html?pagewanted=allhttp://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/25/science/space/25educ.html?pagewanted=allhttp://www.yourcongressyourhealth.org/admin/Editor/assets/yourcongress2011.pdfhttp://www.yourcongressyourhealth.org/admin/Editor/assets/yourcongress2011.pdfhttp://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/main2009/2011451.pdfhttp://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/main2009/2011451.pdfhttp://www.act.org/research/policymakers/cccr11/readiness1.htmlhttp://www.act.org/research/policymakers/cccr11/readiness1.htmlhttp://nces.ed.gov/pubs2009/2009001.pdfhttp://nces.ed.gov/pubs2009/2009001.pdfhttp://www.act.org/research/policymakers/cccr11/readiness1.htmlhttp://www.act.org/research/policymakers/cccr11/readiness1.htmlhttp://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/main2009/2011451.pdfhttp://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/main2009/2011451.pdfhttp://www.yourcongressyourhealth.org/admin/Editor/assets/yourcongress2011.pdfhttp://www.yourcongressyourhealth.org/admin/Editor/assets/yourcongress2011.pdfhttp://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/25/science/space/25educ.html?pagewanted=allhttp://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/25/science/space/25educ.html?pagewanted=all


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Foreword


eighthgradersscoredatorabovetheTIMSSadvanced

level.Bycontrast,32percentofstudentsinSingapore

reachedthatlevel.

Theevidenceisindisputableandshouldbealarming.While

noonetestcancommunicatethefullpictureofeducation

achievement,ifourstudentsperformanceoninternational

assessmentslikeTIMSSandPISAisanyindication,the

UnitedStatesisdoinglittlemorethan talkingaboutthe

importanceofgettingscienceeducationright.

Whyisthis?Howcanitbethat,formorethanvedecades,

Americanshavevoicedsomuchconcernaboutscience

educationyetmadesolittleprogressindeliveringit?There

are,ofcourse,multipleexplanations,startingwiththeblunt

factthatfewstatesandcommunitieshavetakenconcrete

actiontobuildworld-classscienceprogramsintotheir

primaryandsecondaryschools.Withoutsuchprogramsin

placetodeliverthegoods,ourSputnik-inducedanxieties

remainfullyjustiedsomefty-veyearslater.

Asolidscienceeducationprogrambeginsbyclearly

establishingwhatwell-educatedyoungstersneedtolearn

aboutthismulti-faceteddomainofhumanknowledge.Here,

therstcrucialstepissettingclearacademicstandardsfor

theschoolsstandardsthatnotonlyarticulatethecritical

sciencecontentstudentsneedtolearn,butthatalsoproperly

sequenceandprioritizethatcontent.Inthelightofsuch

standards,teachersateachgradelevelcanclearlysee

wheretheyshouldfocustheirtimeandattentiontoensure

thattheirpupilsareontracktowardcollege-andcareer-

readiness.Thatdoesntmeanitwillhappen,ofcourse.Aswe

attheThomasB.FordhamInstitutehaverepeatedlynoted,

standardsalonecannotdriveoutstandingachievement.

Buttheyareanecessarystartingpoint.Theyarethescore

forconductors,musicians,instrumentmakers,andmore.

Theyarethefoundationuponwhichrigorouscurricula

andinstructionalmaterialsandassessmentsarebuilt.They

arethetemplateforpreparingscienceteachersforour

classrooms.

Fordhamhasalong-standinginterestinsciencestandards

andahistoryofreviewingthemwithcareandrigor.Wepublishedourrstanalysisofstatesciencestandardsin1998

andafollow-upreviewin2005.Unfortunately,thendings

frombothevaluationswerenotgood.In1998,justthirty-six

stateshadevensetstandardsforscience,andonlythirteenof

thoseearnedgradesfromourreviewersintheAorBrange.

By2005,thougheverystateexceptIowahadarticulatedK-12

sciencestandards,theresultswereequallydisheartening:

justnineteenearnedhonorsgrades,andtheoverallaverage

wasbarelyaC.

Why So Dierent?

Thisvariabilityinthequalityofstandardsisasunacceptable

asitisunnecessary.Asoneofusobservedinour1998review:

I any subject has the same essentials everywhere,

ater all, its science. I can think o no sound reason whywhat is expected o teachers and children in biology

or chemistry should be dierent in Tennesseethan

Indiana. Indeed, it should be approximately the same as

what is expected in Singapore and Germany, too.6

Scienceisnot,ofcourse,theonlycoresubjectwhereit

makesnosenseforyoungAmericanstobeheldtodifferent

standardsdependingonwheretheylive.Thatiswhy

theCouncilofChiefStateSchoolsOfcers(CCSSO)and

NationalGovernorsAssociation(NGA)cametogether

in2009tobuildrigorouscommonstandardsforEnglish

languagearts(ELA)andmathematics.Thesecommon

standardsaimedtoarticulatetheknowledgeandskillsthatallstudentsneedtomasteracrossgradesK-12iftheyareto

succeedincollegeandcareer.Theresultofthiseffortwas

the2010CommonCorestandardsforELAandmath.

Notably,thesestandardsareclearerandmorerigorous

thanthoseinuseinmoststates.Fordhamsownanalysis,

comparingstateELAandmathstandardswiththeCommon

Corestandards,concludedthat,outof102comparisons

fty-onejurisdictionstimestwosubjectswefoundthe

CommonCoreclearlysuperiorseventy-sixtimes. 7

Today,asimilarpushtowardqualitycommonstandardsis

underwayforscience.Twenty-sixstateshaveteamedupwithAchieve,Inc.tocraftNextGenerationScienceStandards

(NGSS).Thisgroupintendstodoforsciencewhatthe

CCSSOandNGAdidforELAandmath:createasetofclear,

rigorous,andspecicexpectationsthatstateswillhavethe

optiontoadoptastheirown.Indeed,suchamovementis

longoverdue.

LikethedraftersoftheCommonCorestandards,Achieve

anditspartnerswilllooktonationalandinternational

modelsasstartingpointsforthedevelopmentoftheNGSS.

AmongthosemodelsistheFramework for K-12 Science

EducationreleasedbytheNationalResearchCouncil(NRC)inJuly2011.Whilenotasetofstandards,theNRCstates

thattheFrameworkincludesthekeyscienticpractices,

6ChesterE.Finn,Jr.,forewordtoState Science Standards 1998,byLawrence

S.Lerner(Washington,D.C.:ThomasB.FordhamInstitute,March1998),

http://www.edexcellence.net/publications/stsciencestnds.html.

7SheilaByrdCarmichael,GabrielleMartino,KathleenPorter-Magee,and

W.StephenWilson,The State of State Standardsand the Common Corein

2010(Washington,D.C.:ThomasB.FordhamInstitute,July2010),http://

www.edexcellence.net/publications/the-state-of-state.html .

http://www.edexcellence.net/publications/stsciencestnds.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publications/the-state-of-state.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publications/the-state-of-state.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publications/the-state-of-state.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publications/the-state-of-state.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publications/stsciencestnds.html


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Foreword


concepts,andideasthatallstudentsshouldlearnbythetime

theycompletehighschoolandthatitisintendedasaguide

forthosewhodevelopscienceeducationstandards,those

whodesigncurriculaandassessments,andotherswhowork

inK-12scienceeducation.8

InAugust2011,weaskedthedistinguishedbiologist(and

veteranFordhamsciencereviewer)PaulR.Grosstoevaluate

theNRCFramework.Overall,hegaveitasolidB-plus,and

foundthatthedocumentincludesnearlyallofcontent

necessaryforarigorousK-12sciencecurriculum. 9Dr.Gross

didcaution,however,thattheFrameworkmayhavepaid

toomuchattentiontoengineeringandtechnology,aswell

astoscienceprocessskills.Andhewarnedthatstandards

writersusingthisframeworkasamodelwillneedtomake

difcultdecisionsaboutprioritiesthatwerenotmadebythe

Frameworkauthors.

Whenthosecommonstandardsforscienceareready,we

attheThomasB.FordhamInstitutewillreviewandevaluate

them.Butwealsowanttohelpstatesnowfortodays

studentscantwaitforcommonsciencestandards,and

todaysstatesareusingacademicstandardsoftheirownas

thebasisforwhattheirschoolswillteachandtheirchildren

willlearn.

Henceitstimeforafreshreviewofexistingstatescience

standards.Whileforty-ninestatesandtheDistrictof

Columbiahadarticulatedsciencestandardswhenwe

examinedthemin2005,Iowasubsequentlywroteitsown

standardsandforty-twostatesandtheDistrictofColumbia

havechangedtheirstandardsduringtheensuingyears.

Our Approach

Thisreportispartofacomprehensiveseriesoffresh

appraisalsbyFordhamofstate,national,andinternational

standardsinallcorecontentareas.Hereweprovideanalyses

oftheK-12sciencestandardscurrentlyinplaceinallfty

statesandtheDistrictofColumbia,aswellastheassessment

frameworkthatundergirdstheNAEPscienceassessment.

Thesereviewsshouldalsohelpstatesgaugethecomparative

strengthsandweaknessesoftheirstandardsvis--vistheforthcomingNextGenerationScienceStandardsand

8NationalResearchCouncil,A Framework for K-12 Science Education:

Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas(Washington,D.C.:National

ResearchCouncil,July2011), http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_

id=13165.

9PaulR.Gross,Review of the National Research Councils Framework for

K-12 Science Education(Washington,D.C.:ThomasB.FordhamInstitute,

October2011),http://www.edexcellence.net/publications/review-of-the-

nrc-framework-for-k12-science-education.html .

howtheystackuptodayagainstthescienceeducation

expectationsthatundergirdNAEP.

Forthesereviews,wehaveenlistedthehelpofseveral

veteranreviewers,allofthemexpertsintheireld.LawrenceLernerjoinedusasleadauthorforthisevaluation

ofstatesciencestandards.Dr.Lernerhasplayedarolein

allofoursciencereviews,datingbackto1998.Thistime

heisjoinedbyateamofexperts:UrsulaGoodenough,who

evaluatedlifescience;RichardSchwartz,whoprimarily

reviewedchemistryandphysicalscience;MarthaSchwartz,

whoanalyzedearthandspacescience;andJohnLynch,who

evaluatedscienceinquirystandards.

Inaddition,Dr.GrossrejoinedustoappraisetheNAEP

assessmentframeworkforscience.

Ourexpertsemployednewandimprovedcontent-specic

criteriaaswellasthecommongradingmetricthathasbeen

usedforallofthereportsinthiscycleofFordhamstandards

reviews.10Applicationofthosecriteriaandthecommon

metricyieldsforeverystateineverysubjectatwo-part

score:atallyfromzerotosevenforcontentandrigor,and

atallyfromzerotothreeforclarityandspecicity.These

werecombinedsuchthateachsetofstandardsobtaineda

totalnumbergrade(uptoten),whichwasthenconverted

toalettergrade(fromAthroughF).(Formoredetail,see

AppendixA:Methods,Criteria,andGradingMetric.)

What We Found

Theresultsofthisrigorousanalysispaintafreshbutstill

bleakpicture.Amajorityofthestatesstandardsremain

mediocretoawful.Infact,theaveragegradeacrossallstates

isonceagainathoroughlyundistinguishedC.(Infact,its

10Toreadour2010reviewofstateELAandmathstandardsandthe

CommonCore,seehttp://www.edexcellence.net/publications/the-state-of-

state.html.Forour2011analysisofstateU.S.Historystandards,see http://

www.edexcellence.net/publications/the-state-of-state-us.html .

Why Review NAEP?

TheNationalAssessmentofEducationProgress(NAEP)

isthemost-oftenusedbarometerofstudentlearningin

science.ResultsfromNAEPareusedtocomparestudent

achievementacrossstatesandtojudgestates'student-prociencylevels.BecauseNAEPissocentraltothe

conversationonstateandnationalscienceachievement,

wefeltitwasimportanttoanalyzethequalityof

itsimplicitstandardsembodiedinitsassessment

frameworktoseehowtheycomparewiththequalityof

eachstatesstandards.
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13165http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13165http://www.edexcellence.net/publications/review-of-the-nrc-framework-for-k12-science-education.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publications/review-of-the-nrc-framework-for-k12-science-education.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publications/the-state-of-state.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publications/the-state-of-state.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publications/the-state-of-state-us.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publications/the-state-of-state-us.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publications/the-state-of-state-us.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publications/the-state-of-state-us.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publications/the-state-of-state.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publications/the-state-of-state.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publications/review-of-the-nrc-framework-for-k12-science-education.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publications/review-of-the-nrc-framework-for-k12-science-education.htmlhttp://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13165http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13165


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Foreword

WV

OH

PA

NY

ME

RI

CTNJ

DE

MD

D.C.

GA

FL

ALMS

TN

KY

IN

MI

IL

WI

MN

IA

MO

AR

TX

LA

OK

KS

NE

SD

NDMT

WY

CO

NMAZ

UT

ID

WA

OR

NV

CA

AK

HI

NH

MA

VA

NC

SC

VT

alowC.)Intwenty-sevenjurisdictions,thesciencestandards

earnaDorbelow.Yetthisveryweaknessinwhatstates

expectoftheirschools,teachers,andstudentsinscience

suggeststhatapurposefulfocusonimprovingorreplacing

todaysstandardscouldbeakeypartofacomprehensive

efforttoboostscienceperformance.

TwojurisdictionsCaliforniaandtheDistrictofColumbia

havestandardsstrongenoughtoearnstraightAsfromour

reviewers.FourotherstatesIndiana,Massachusetts,South

Carolina,andVirginiaearnA-minuses,asdoestheNAEPassessmentframework.Andsevenstatesearngradesinthe

Brange.Butthisalsomeansthatjustthirteenjurisdictions

barely25percent,andfewerthanin2005earnaBorbetter

forsettingappropriatelyclear,rigorous,andspecicstandards.

Ofcourse,asDr.Lernernotedin1998:

When it comes to academic standardseven a B

ought not be deemed satisactory. In a properly

organized education system, standards drive everything

else. I they are only pretty good, then pretty good is

the best the system is apt to produce by way o student

learning. No state should be satised with such a result.

Hence, no state should be satised with less than world-

class standards in a core academic subject such as

science.

Stateslookingtoimprovetheirstandards,however,need

notstartfromscratch,orevenwaitfortheNGSS.Theycan

looktoplaceslikeCaliforniaandtheDistrictofColumbia,

andalsototheNAEPassessmentframework,formodelsof

excellence.

Letusrepeatthateventhenestofstandardsalonewill

neveryieldoutstandingacademicachievement.Several

stateswithexemplarysciencestandardsstillarentserious

aboutsettinghighprociencybarsontheirassessments.

Othersdontholdstudents(ortheirteachers)properly

accountableforlearning(orsuccessfullyimparting)

importantcontent.Andstillothershaventprovided(or

directedteachersto)thecurricularandinstructional

resourcesthatteachersneedtodriveachievement.But,

A

LEGEND

A-

B

C

D

F

State Science Standards Grades, 2012

B+


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Foreword

whilestandardsalonewontdriveachievement,theyarean

importantplacetostart.

Changes since 2005

Oftheforty-fourjurisdictionsthathaverevisedorreplaced

theirsciencestandardssinceour2005analysis,elevenhave

shownsomeimprovement,andsomeofthatimprovement

hasbeendramatic(seeTable1).Kansas,forexample,moved

fromanFtoaBandArkansasmovedfromaDtoaB.The

DistrictofColumbiarosefromamediocreCinourlast

analysistoabest-in-classAthistime.

Bycontrast,sixteenstatesmanagedtomaketheirstandards

worsesince2005.Infact,veofthemColorado,New

Jersey,NorthCarolina,Tennessee,andWestVirginia

droppedfromBstoDs.

Onbalance,thecombinationofimprovementsand

worseningshadlittleimpactonournationalaverage.Inboth

2005and2012,theaveragegradeforstatesciencestandards

wasaminimalC. 11

11Note,however,thatourcriteriahavechangedsince2005.Therefore,

changesinastatesgradecouldbeduetochangesinthequalityofthe

standards,changesinourcriteria,orboth.Formoreinformationonour

gradingmetric,seeAppendixA.

Table 1. 2005 and 2012 Grades in Alphabetical Order

2005 Grade 2012 Grade 2005 Grade 2012 Grade

Jurisdiction

Alabama F D

Jurisdiction

Montana F F

Alaska F F Nebraska F F

Arizona B D Nevada D D

Arkansas D B New Hampshire F D

Caliornia A A New Jersey B D

Colorado B D New Mexico A C

Connecticut C C New York A B+

Delaware C C North Carolina B D

District o Columbia C A North Dakota D F

Florida F D Ohio B B

Georgia B C Oklahoma F F

Hawaii F D Oregon F F

Idaho F F Pennsylvania C D

Illinois B D Rhode Island C D

Indiana A A- South Carolina A A-

Iowa N/A D South Dakota D F

Kansas F B Tennessee B D

Kentucky D D Texas F C

Louisiana B B Utah C B

Maine D D Vermont C C

Maryland B B Virginia A A-

Massachusetts A A- Washington C C

Michigan D C West Virginia B D

Minnesota B C Wisconsin F F

Mississippi F C Wyoming F F

Missouri C C


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Foreword

Acknowledgments

GeneroussupportforthisprojectcamefromtheCarnegie

CorporationofNewYork,aswellasfromoursister

organization,theThomasB.FordhamFoundation.

Wealsothankthemanyindividualswhomadethisendeavorpossible.Firstandforemost,wearedeeplygratefultoour

content-areaexpertsandreportauthors,LawrenceLerner,

RichardSchwartz,MarthaSchwartz,UrsulaGoodenough,

andJohnLynch.WearealsogratefultoLawrenceLerner

andAdamMarcusforhelpingtocobbletogetherthe

patchworkofreviewsintoasingle,cleanproduct.And

onceagain,wethankPaulGross,whohelpedshapethe

directionoftheprojectandprovidedwisdomandguidance

throughout,inadditiontoconductingtheNAEPreview.

AttheFordhamend,specialthanksgoesrsttoAmber

Winkler,Fordhamsvicepresidentforresearch,whoprovidedongoingguidanceandsupportfromtheprojects

inception,andtoDanielaFairchild,whohelpedmanage

theprojectandsteerittowardthenishline.Wearealso

gratefultoourteamofinternsAliciaGoldberg,Josh

Pierson,LauraJohnson,andMichaelIshimotofortheir

helpresearchingthestandards,conrmingstandards

documents,andreviewingthenalreport.

SpecialthanksgoaswelltotheFordhamproductionteam

JanieScull,JoePortnoy,andTysonEberhardtforthework

theydidtoensurethenalreportwasproperlyedited,

published,anddisseminated.WearegratefultoShannon

LastandAltonCreative,notjustfortheirexpertcopyediting

andlayoutwork(respectively),butalsofortheirhardwork

andpatienceaswemovedthisreportthroughproduction.

Finally,wethankSarahSamarooforproducinganepiccover

illustration.


9/217

THE STATE OF STATE SCIENCE STANDARDSTHE STATE OF STATE SCIENCE STANDARDS

ThisreportexaminesK-12sciencestandardsforftystates

andtheDistrictofColumbia,aswellasthescienceassessmentframeworkoftheNationalAssessmentofEducational

Progress(NAEP).Ouraimistoevaluatethemfortheir

intrinsicclarity,completeness,andscienticcorrectness.

Wehavenotinvestigatedwhethertheyarebeingproperly

assessedwithstatetestsoreffectivelyimplementedinthe

schools,orwhethertheyaredrivingimprovementsinstudent

achievement.

Thatsaid,settingclear,thorough,andrigorousstandardsis

critical.Theyarethefoundationuponwhichastatessystemof

assessment,instruction,andaccountabilityrests.

2012 Analysis: Where StateStandards Go WrongOurearlierevaluations,aswellasthoseevaluationsconducted

byothers,havemadeitclearthattoomanystatescience

standardsaremediocretopoor.Inparticular,therearefour

areaswheretheymostfrequentlyfailtomeasureup.

Problem 1: An Undermining o Evolution

Nothinginbiologymakessenseexceptinthelightof

evolution.SowrotefamedbiologistTheodosiusDobzhanskyin1973.12Andsoitistoday.Yetcontroversycontinuesto

enveloptheteachingofevolutioninAmericanschools.One

wonders,indeed,howmuchprogresswevemadeinthis

realmsincetheScopestrialin1925.Sixyearsago,ourscience

reviewersnotedthat:

12TheodosiusDobzhansky,NothinginBiologyMakesSenseExceptinthe

LightofEvolution,The American Biology Teacher35(1973):125-129,http://

people.delphiforums.com/lordorman/Dobzhansky.pdf.

The attack on evolution is unabated [since 2000], and

Darwins critics have evolved a more-subtle, more

dangerous approach. A decade ago, the anti-evolution

movementargued vigorously or explicit teaching o the

evidence or intelligent design. The claim now is that

evidence against Darwinism exists, that curriculum-

makers should include it as an exercise in critical thinking,

and that reedom o speech or airness requires that

they do so. The hidden agenda is to introduce doubtany

possible doubtabout evolution at the critical early stage

o introduction to the relevant science.13

Whilemanystatesarehandlingevolutionbettertodaythan

inthepast,anti-evolutionpressurescontinuetothreaten

statesciencestandards.InJune2008,forexample,LouisianapasseditsinfamousScienceEducationAct,ostensiblyan

academicfreedomsactmeanttogiveteachersandstudents

legalcovertodebatethemeritsandveracityofscientic

theories.Inpractice,themeasurepushesapro-creationist

agendaandgivescovertothoselookingtoteachintelligent

designcreationism.Thoughtheactisafree-standingstatute

withnodirectlinktothePelicanStatesacademicstandards,

itdoesdamagebyallowingfortheintroductionofcreationist

teachingsupplementstherebyaffectingclassroom

instructionwithoutexplicitlyalteringthestatesstandards. 14

Louisianaisnottheonlystatethathastriedtounderminethe

teachingofevolutionthroughlegislation.In2011alone,eight

13PaulR.Gross,The State of State Science Standards 2005(Washington,

D.C.:ThomasB.FordhamInstitute,December2005),http://www.

edexcellence.net/publications/index.jsp?issuestopics=standards-testing-

accountability&page=8.

14Fordetails,seeBulletin 741Louisiana Handbook for School Administrators,

publishedbytheLouisianaBoardofElementaryandSecondaryEducation

athttp://www.doa.louisiana.gov/osr/lac/28v115/28v115.doc.Section2304

stipulateshowtheScienceEducationActistobeadministeredbyschool

administratorsandteachersattheparishandlocallevels.
http://people.delphiforums.com/lordorman/Dobzhansky.pdfhttp://people.delphiforums.com/lordorman/Dobzhansky.pdfhttp://people.delphiforums.com/lordorman/Dobzhansky.pdfhttp://people.delphiforums.com/lordorman/Dobzhansky.pdfhttp://people.delphiforums.com/lordorman/Dobzhansky.pdfhttp://www.doa.louisiana.gov/osr/lac/28v115/28v115.dochttp://www.doa.louisiana.gov/osr/lac/28v115/28v115.dochttp://people.delphiforums.com/lordorman/Dobzhansky.pdfhttp://people.delphiforums.com/lordorman/Dobzhansky.pdfhttp://people.delphiforums.com/lordorman/Dobzhansky.pdfhttp://people.delphiforums.com/lordorman/Dobzhansky.pdfhttp://people.delphiforums.com/lordorman/Dobzhansky.pdf


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Introduction

anti-evolutionbillswereintroducedinsixstatelegislatures.

(Thankfully,nonemadeitintolaw.)Andtwosimilarbills

werepre-ledinNewHampshireforthe2012legislative

session,15aswellasoneinIndiana. 16

Ofcourse,mostanti-evolutioneffortsareaimedmore

directlyatthestandardsthemselves.Andthesetacticsare

farmoresubtlethantheyoncewere.Missouri,forexample,

hasasteriskedallcontroversialevolutioncontentinthe

standardsandrelegatedittoavoluntarycurriculumthat

willnotbeassessed.(Sadly,thismarksastepbackfromthat

statescoverageofevolutionin2005.)Tennesseeincludes

evolutiononlyinanelectivehighschoolcourse(notthe

basichighschoolbiologycourse).AndMarylandincludes

evolutioncontentinitsstandardsbutexplicitlyexcludes

crucialpointsfromitsstateassessment.

Otherstateshaveunderminedtheteachingofevolutionby

singlingitoutassomehownotquiteasscienticasother

conceptsofsimilarbreadth.Acommontechniqueusedtoa

greaterorlesserextentbyColorado,Missouri,Montana,and

WestVirginiaistodirectstudentstostudyitsstrengths

andweaknesses.

Fartoooften,importantevolutioncontentisincluded,

butminimally.Somestatesmentionevolutionjustonce

intheirstandardsandneverrevisitit.Othersincluding

Indiana,Iowa,Kansas,Kentucky,Michigan,andNebraska

unnecessarilydelayituntilhighschool.

Evensomeofthenationsbeststandardssubtlyunderminetheteachingofevolution.InCalifornia,forexample,

15HouseBill1148,introducedbyJerryBergevin(R-District17),would

chargethestateboardofeducationto[r]equireevolutiontobetaughtin

thepublicschoolsofthisstateasatheory,includingthetheoristspolitical

andideologicalviewpointsandtheirpositionontheconceptofatheism.

HouseBill1457,introducedbyGaryHopper(R-District7)andJohnBurt

(R-District7),wouldchargethestateboardofeducationto[r]equire

scienceteacherstoinstructpupilsthatproperscienticinquire[ sic]results

fromnotcommittingtoanyonetheoryorhypothesis,nomatterhowrmly

itappearstobeestablished,andthatscienticandtechnologicalinnovations

basedonnewevidencecanchallengeacceptedscientictheoriesormodes.

AlthoughHB1457,asdrafted,issilentaboutintelligentdesign,Hoppers

initialrequestwastohaveabilldraftedthatwouldrequireinstruction

inintelligentdesigninthepublicschools.Bothbillswerereferredtothe

HouseEducationCommittee;HB1148isscheduledforhearingonFebruary

9,2012,andHB1457isscheduledforhearingonFebruary14,2012.

16SenateBill89,pre-ledintheIndianaSenateandreferredtothe

CommitteeonEducationandCareerDevelopment,would,ifenacted,

amendtheIndianaCodetoprovidethat[t]hegoverningbodyofaschool

corporationmayrequiretheteachingofvarioustheoriesconcerningthe

originoflife,includingcreationscience,withintheschoolcorporation.The

sponsorofthebillisDennisKruse(R-District14),whochairstheSenate

CommitteeonEducationandCareerDevelopment.

studentsaretoldtounderstandscience,notnecessarily[to]

accepteverythingtaught.InNewYork,studentslearnthat

accordingtomanyscientists,biologicalevolutionoccurs

throughnaturalselection.(Thisisnotaccordingtomany

but,infact,alltruescientists.)

Finally,conspicuouslymissingfromthevastmajorityof

statesstandardsismentionofhumanevolutionimplying

thatelementsofbiologicalevolutiondontpertainto

humanlife.Thismarksasubtlebutimportantvictoryfor

creationists:Evenstateswiththoroughandappropriate

coverageofevolution(e.g.,Massachusetts,Utah,and

Washington)shyawayfromlinkingthecontroversialterm

withourselves.OnlyfourstatesFlorida,NewHampshire,

Iowa,andRhodeIslandopenlyembracehumanevolution

intheircurrentsciencestandards.(Pennsylvania,which

referencedhumanevolutioninitspreviousstandards,has

omitteditfromthemorerecentversion.)

Problem 2: A Propensity to be Vague

Educatorsshouldnotbeconfrontedwithstandardsthatare

sovagueastobemeaninglessandyet,basedonourcurrent

analysis,thatispreciselywhatmanystateshaveimposedon

theirteachers.Infact,onlysevenstateshadstandardsclear

enoughtoearnthemfull-creditscoresofthreeoutofthree

pointsforclarityandspecicity.Twenty-nineearnedaoneor

zerooutofthree.

AmiddleschoolteacherinNewHampshire,forexample,

willcomefacetofacewiththefollowing:Identifyenergyasapropertyofmanysubstances.Pennsylvaniaoffersthe

equallybafingExplainthechemistryofmetabolism.

Suchemptystatementscandolittletoinformcurriculum

developmentorinstruction,andgivenoguidanceto

assessmentdevelopers.

Similarly,NewJerseystudentsareaskedto:

Demonstrate understanding o the interrelationships

among undamental concepts in the physical, lie, and

Earth systems sciences. (grade 4)

Use outcomes o investigations to build and renequestions, models, and explanations. (grade 4)

Theseexpectationscontainvirtuallynospeciccontent;

itsimpossibletodeterminewhatstudentsshouldactually

knoworbeabletodo.Toourdismay,similarlyvagueand

meaninglessstatementsarecommonacrossfartoomany

statestandards.


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Introduction

Afew,however,havecraftedclearandspecicstandards

thatcouldeasilyformthebasisofarigorousK-12science

curriculum.Forinstance,theCaliforniastandardsexplain:

Electricity and magnetism are related eects that have

many useul applications in everyday lie. As a basis or

understanding this concept:

Students know how to design and build simple series

and parallel circuits by using components such as

wires, batteries, and bulbs.

Students know how to build a simple compass and

use it to detect magnetic eects, including Earths

magnetic eld.

Students know electric currents produce magnetic

elds and know how to build a simple electromagnet.

Students know the role o electromagnets in the

construction o electric motors, electric generators,

and simple devices, such as doorbells and earphones.

Students know electrically charged objects attract or

repel each other.

Students know that magnets have two poles (north

and south) and that like poles repel each other while

unlike poles attract each other.

Students know electrical energy can be converted to

heat, light, and motion. (grade 4)

Thisstandardleavesnoquestionastowhat,precisely,

studentsshouldknoworbeabletodo.

Alas,suchcogentandunambiguouswritingisdistressingly

rare.

Problem 3: Poor Integration o Scientifc Inquiry

Foratleastthepastfteenyearspossiblyevenlonger

scienceeducators,curriculumdevelopers,andstandards

writershavefocusedgreaterandgreaterattentionon

inquiry-basedlearning.Inpractice,thismeanshelping

studentslearnscienticcontentthroughdiscovery,as

opposedtothroughdirectinstructionofspeciccontent.

Indeed,theNationalScienceTeachersAssociation(NSTA)

recommendsthatallK-16teachersembracescientic

inquiryandthattheymakeitthecenterpieceofthescience

classroom.17

Ofcourse,inquiryhasanimportantroleinscience

classrooms.Studentsshouldlearnimportantprocessand

methodologyskills.Theyshouldbeintroducedtoimportant

conceptsliketheoryandhypothesisearlyintheirK-12

17NationalScienceTeachersAssociation,NSTAPositionStatement:

ScienticInquiry,October2004,http://www.nsta.org/about/positions/

inquiry.aspx?print=true.

education,andtheyshouldlearnaboutthehistoryand

evolutionofscience.

Unfortunately,intoomanystates,theinquirystandards

arevaguetothepointofuselessness.InIdaho,forinstance,

studentsaremerelyaskedtomakeobservationsortouse

cooperationandinteractionskills.AndIowaschoolchildren

aredirectedto:

Make appropriate personal/liestyle/technology

choices, evaluate, observe, discuss/debate, recognize

interactions and interdependencies at all levels, explain,

describe environmental eects o public policy, choose

appropriate course(s) o action.

Suchstatementsaredevoidofanyteachablecontent

andleaveteacherswithnoguidanceastohowtheycan

incorporategenuinescienticinquiryskillsintotheir

instruction.

Furthermore,inquirystandardscanonlyenhancestudent

learningiftheyaremeaningfullylinkedtocontent.

Unfortunately,toomanystatestreatinquiryasan

afterthoughtoradd-on.InMichigan,forexample,astand-

aloneinquirystandardasksrstgraderstomakecareful

andpurposefulobservationsinordertoraisequestions,

investigate,andmakemeaningoftheirndings.Such

expectationswhicharedistressinglycommonpresent

loftygoalsthatarehollowwhennotintegratedwithcontent.

Anothercommonproblemwithstateinquirystandardsis

theirfailuretoaddressthehistoryofscienceproperly.Fartoooften,thehistoryofscienceismissingentirely.Andof

thestatesthatdoincludeit,toomanyincludeoverlybroad

directivesthatlackanyrealsubstance.InMaryland,for

instance,studentsaretoldonlythatsciencehasbeendoneby

differentkindsofpeople,indifferentcultures,atdifferent

times,aninanestatementthatgivesteachersnodirectionas

towhatimportantscientichistorystudentsshouldlearn.

Problem 4: Where Did All the Numbers Go?

Mathematicsisintegraltoscience.Yetfewstatesmake

thelinkbetweenmathandscienceclearandmanyseemtogotogreatlengthstoavoidmathematicalformulae

andequationsaltogether.Theresultisusuallyaclumsy

mishmashofpoorwritingthatcouldmuchmoreeasilyand

clearlybeexpressedinnumbers.

Itmakessense,ofcourse,tofocusscienceeducationon

qualitativemattersintheearliergrades,sincestudents

havenotyetacquiredabroadmathematicalbackground

andthereisstillplentyofqualitativematerialtheyneed

tolearn.Forthefourth-gradestudent,itisnetodene
http://www.nsta.org/about/positions/inquiry.aspx?print=truehttp://www.nsta.org/about/positions/inquiry.aspx?print=truehttp://www.nsta.org/about/positions/inquiry.aspx?print=truehttp://www.nsta.org/about/positions/inquiry.aspx?print=true


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Introduction

energyaswhatmakesthingshappen,asmanystatesdoin

onewayoranother.Butoncestudentshavelearnedsome

algebraitdoesntneedtobealotitisimportanttomake

thingsquantitative,asinthisstandardfromtheDistrictof

Columbia:

Recognize that when a net orce,F, acts through a

distance, x, on an object o mass,m, which is initially

at rest, work, W=Fx, is done on the object; the object

acquires a velocity, v, and a kinetic energy,K= mv2 =

W=Fx. (high school physics)

Onlythencanthestudentunderstandsuchvitalprinciples

asthelawofconservationofenergy,becausethat

understandingdependsoncomparingtwonumbersand

showingthattheyarethesame.

Unfortunately,fewstatestaketheapproachofprogressing

fromqualitativetoquantitativeinsights.FarmoretypicalisthispassagefromIllinois:

Understand that energy, dened somewhat circularly,

is the ability to change matter, or the ability to do

work. Understand that energy is dened by the way it

is measured or quantied. Understand the dierence

between potential and kinetic energy. (grade 11)

Suchalimiteddenitionofenergycannotpossiblyprepare

studentsforcollege-levelwork.

Whilephysicsisthemostmathematicalofthesciences,

agenuineunderstandingofchemistryalsodependson

theabilitytoperformquantitativeoperations.Suchvital

conceptsasequilibrium,ionconcentration,andmanyothers

areentirelydependentuponthatability.Norcanoneacquire

akeeninsightintotheotherhighschoolscienceswithout

someexposuretoquantitativemethods.

EverystatehastheresourcestoproduceexcellentK-12

sciencestandards.Itisourhopethatacloserapproachto

thisidealappearsinthenot-too-distantfuture,asstates

independentlypenmuchimprovedstandards,adopt(orcribfrom)existingexcellentones,orembracemoreorless

nationwidemodelsthathavebeenpreparedandscrutinized

byrecognizedexperts.


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SCIENCE

GRADE SCORES TOTAL SCORE

Content and Rigor 3/7

Clarity and Specifcity 1/3 4/10D

Content & Rigor 2.7

Scientifc Inquiry & Methodology 2

Physical Science 3

Physics 1

Chemistry 3

Earth & Space Science 4

Lie Science 3

Clarity & Specifcity 1.4

Average numerical evaluations

Document(s) Reviewed1

Alabama Course of Study: Science.2005.

Accessedfrom:http://www.alsde.edu/

html/sections/documents.asp?section=54&

sort=4&footer=sections

1Fordhams2005evaluationalsoreviewedAlabamas2005content-standards

document.Since2005,wehaveupdated

andimprovedtheevaluationcriteriaused

tojudgethestandards.(SeeAppendixA

foracompleteexplanationofthecriteria

usedinthisreview.)Throughthisnew

lens,Alabamassciencegraderosefroman

FtoaD.Thecomplete2005reviewcan

befoundhere:http://www.edexcellence.

net/publicationsissues/publications/

sosscience05.html.

REPORT CARD OverviewAlabamassciencestandardsgenerallyfailtooutlinetheessentialsciencecontentteachersneedtoteachandstudentsneedtolearn.Althoughnoteveryareaisbereft

ofusefulmaterial,thetreatmentofconceptsoftenishaphazard,incomplete,puzzling,

andattimesincorrect.Theresultisahashfromwhichfrustratededucatorswillbe

hard-pressedtoextractaneffectivecurriculum.

Organization o the StandardsTheAlabamasciencestandardsarepresentedinfourdocuments,oneeachforthe

gradebandscoveringK-2,3-5,6-8,andhighschool.ForgradesK-5,grade-specic

standardsaredividedintothreefamiliarstrands:physicalscience,lifescience,and

earthandspacescience.Forgrades6-8,grade-specicstandardsarefocusedonasingle

contentareaeachyear:Sixthgradefocusesonearthandspacescience,seventhgradeonlifescience,andeighthgradeonphysicalscience(coveringchemistryandphysics).

Atthehighschoollevel,standardsarepresentedforfourcorecourses(physical

science,biology,chemistry,andphysics)aswellasfortendiscreteelectives,including

botany,forensicscience,andzoology.

Foreachgradeandcourse,individualstandardsincludethreecomponentparts.First,

thestatepresentscontentstandards.Underthecontentstandardsisaseriesofbullets,

whichexplaincontentthatisrelatedtothestandardsandrequiredforinstruction.

Examplesareprovidedtoclarifyeithercontentstandardsorbullets.

Content and RigorAcrosstheboard,Alabamasstandardsaremediocretopoor.Largeswathsofimportantinformationaremissing,andwhatispresentoftenreceivescursorytreatment.A

penchantforbulletedlistsdoesnotservethedocumentwell.Equallyproblematic,the

materialisoccasionallyfartoochallengingforthespeciedgradelevelparticularly

consideringthelackofadequatedevelopmentthatpervadesthestandards.

Scientifc Inquiry and Methodology

Thestandardsexplainthatprocessandapplicationskillsshouldbeembedded

throughoutthecontentareasandappliedthroughtheuseofinquiry.Unfortunately,
http://www.alsde.edu/html/sections/documents.asp?section=54&sort=4&footer=sectionshttp://www.alsde.edu/html/sections/documents.asp?section=54&sort=4&footer=sectionshttp://www.alsde.edu/html/sections/documents.asp?section=54&sort=4&footer=sectionshttp://www.edexcellence.net/publicationsissues/publications/sosscience05.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publicationsissues/publications/sosscience05.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publicationsissues/publications/sosscience05.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publicationsissues/publications/sosscience05.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publicationsissues/publications/sosscience05.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publicationsissues/publications/sosscience05.htmlhttp://www.alsde.edu/html/sections/documents.asp?section=54&sort=4&footer=sectionshttp://www.alsde.edu/html/sections/documents.asp?section=54&sort=4&footer=sectionshttp://www.alsde.edu/html/sections/documents.asp?section=54&sort=4&footer=sections


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SCIENCE Alabama DGRADE



dueinlargeparttothestandardsbrevityandsubsequent

vagueness,thereislittleguidanceabouthow,exactly,these

skillsshouldbeembeddedintothecontent.Forinstance,

thestandardsexplainthatanalyzingdatainvolvesusing

collecteddatatoacceptorrejecthypotheses,awoefully

inadequatedescriptionoftheimportanceofdatatoscienticinquiry.ThislackofspecicitypermeatestheAlabama

inquirystandards.Thestatesguidelinesoncultural

diversityinscience,forexample,statethatintegrationof

culturallyrelevantbiographicalsketchesofmaleandfemale

scientistsfromavarietyofethnicbackgrounds...shouldbe

incorporatedintoscientictopics.Sure,butnoguidanceis

givenastowhichscientistsshouldbestudied.

Worse,whatlittleguidancedoesexistisoftenrifewith

errors.Forinstance,onestandardclaimsthatformulating

hypotheses(anadvancedskill)comesdowntomaking

predictionsoffutureeventsbasedonmanipulationofvariables.No,itdoesnot.

Physical Science

PhysicalscienceiscoveredinKindergartenthroughfth

grade,aswellasineighthgrade(whichissolelydevotedto

thesubject)andinahighschoolphysicalsciencecourse.

Ingeneral,theeighth-gradecoverageisspotty.Much

contentispresent(atleastinpassing),includingtheatomic

structure,chemicalreactions,kinetictheory,mechanics,

energy,hydrostatics,andwaves.Yetmanytopicssuchas

gravitation,thermodynamics,optics,electromagnetism,and

organicchemistryaremissing,andAlabamaoftenfailsto

provideadequatedetailforthosetopicsthatarecovered.

Forinstance,balancingchemicalequationsisintroducedin

eighthgrade,asischemicalbonding.However,onlyionic

andcovalentbondsarementioned.Asanotherexample:

[Describe] acids and bases based on their hydrogen ion

concentration. (grade 8)

Muchimportantcontentismissinghere:Whatismeant

byconcentration?Howisconcentrationmeasured?

Whataretheproperties,commonnames,andformulasof

acidsandbases?HowdoesoneusethepHscale,litmus,andotheracid/baseindicators?Whatisthemechanismof

neutralizationreactions?

Thissamesituationholdstrueforhighschoolphysical

science.Here,Alabamaboastssomerigorouscontent

(theimplicitreferencetoAmpresandFaradayslaws,

forexample),whilesimultaneouslyskippingnumerous

importanttopics.Optics,acoustics,hydrostaticsand

hydrodynamics,andalternatingcurrents(exceptfora

passing,crypticmentionofinduction)areallabsent.

Andthelaststandardinthehighschoolphysicalscience

sectionIdentifymetricunitsformass,distance,time,

temperature,velocity,acceleration,density,force,energy,and

powerreadslikeanoddafterthought,whenitoughttobe

acentralpoint.

High School Physics

Admirably,thehighschoolphysicscoursespeciesAlgebra

IIwithtrigonometryasaprerequisite.Butthishopefulsign

onlyleadstodisappointment.Kinematicsiscoveredbriey

andsomewhatbyimplication,butallofdynamicsispassed

offandfoldedintootherareas,aswiththefollowing:

Describe quantitative relationships or velocity,

acceleration, orce, work, power, potential energy, and

kinetic energy. (high school physics)

Thisdoesnotbodewellforrealapplicationofthelaudablemathematicalprerequisites.

Whatsmore,thecontentthatispresentoftenlackssufcient

depthoffocus,asisthecasewiththermodynamics,waves,

optics,electromagnetism,andpracticalelectricity.

Thestandardsarefurthermarredbyinappropriate

sequencing.Forexample,conceptsofenergyarepresented

beforedynamicsthoughtheformermustbederivedfrom

thelatter.

Thewonderful,mysteriouswordentropyisintroduced

withnopriormentionofanyofthelawsofthermodynamicsonwhichtheconceptisbased.Everythingiscondensed

intotheillogicalstatement,Explaintheconceptofentropy

asitrelatestoheatingandcooling,usingthelawsof

thermodynamics.

Likewise,thecentralquantummechanicalconceptofwave-

particledualityisinexplicablyjammedintothesequenceof

statementsconcerningclassicalwaves,andthestudentis

somehowexpectedtodemonstratethephenomenon.

High School Chemistry

Aswiththeotherdisciplines,Alabamaschemistrystandardssufferfromvaguenessandinsufcientdepthofcoverage.

Forexample,afterappearingintheeighth-gradestandards,

chemicalbondingisnotmentionedagain,exceptforthis

ratherbroaddirective:[Predict]ionicandcovalentbond

typesandproductsgivenknownreactants.Andtheentire

topicofacid/basetheoryissummedupinonlyonebulleted

item:[Describe]acidsandbasesintermsofstrength,

concentration,pH,andneutralizationreactions.The

importantconceptsarethere,buttheyneedtobeeshedout.


15/217



Oddly,evenassomebasicconceptsareomitted,advanced

onesareincluded.Inthenuclearchemistrystandards,wesee

thefollowing:

[Identiy] atomic and subatomic particles, including

mesons, quarks, tachyons, and baryons. (high school

chemistry)

Thementionoftachyons(hypotheticalparticleswhose

minimumspeedisthespeedoflight)ispeculiar,sincetheir

existenceisentirelyspeculative,whilesuchsignicant

particlesasleptons(includingelectrons)andneutrinosare

notmentionedatall.(Whatsmore,theparticlesthat are

mentionedhavemoretodowithmodernphysicsthanwith

chemistry.)

Earth and Space Science

TheauthorsoftheAlabamastandardshavemadeanefforttoprovidereasonableearthsciencecontent.Unfortunately,

giventhetersenessofthestatesstandards(allsixth-grade

contentisexplainedinone-and-a-halfpages,forexample),

muchcriticalcontextandnecessaryexplanationismissing.

Takethissixth-gradestandard,inwhichstudentsareaskedto:

Explain the plate tectonic theory.

Example: using terminology such as continental

drit, seafoor spreading, lava, magma, eruption,

epicenter, ocus, seismic wave, and subduction

zone

Describing types o volcanoes and aults Determining energy release through seismographic

data

Example: using data rom the Mercalli scale and

the Richter scale. (grade 6)

Thisshortexcerptcontainsalaundrylistofvocabulary.

Thetermscoveredcouldactasaskeletonofstrongstate

standards,buttheirrequireddepthofstudyisamystery.As

anexample,considerseismicwaves.Arestudentsmerely

supposedtoknowthattheycausegroundshaking?Or

aretheytodescribebodywaveswhetherprimary(P)

orsecondary(S)andsurfacewaves?Or,betterstill,aretheytoshowhowPandSwavesmaybeusedtolocatean

earthquakesfocusandepicenter(twoothertermsonthe

list)?Andsoitgoes:goodideasnotdevelopedquiteenough.

Thepeaksandvalleysofthisstandardarerepresentativeof

thestandardsasawhole.

Still,therearesomebrighterspotswherethecontentis

spelledoutcarefully,asinthethird-gradematerialon

minerals:

[Classiy] rocks and minerals by characteristics,

including streak, color, hardness, magnetism, luster, and

texture. (grade 3)

Thismissesthemarkjustalittlerockclassicationisdone

abitdifferentlythanmineralclassication.TheAlabama

highschoolgeologyelectivecoversrocksnicelyaswell,

thoughthestateshighschoolearthandspacescience

standards(whichappearonlyinelectivecourses)suffer

fromthesamedecitastheirelementaryandmiddleschool

counterparts:largechunksoflooselyrelatedcontent,

whichcouldoutlineanexcellentcourse,whizbyinsingle

statements.

Lie Science

Alabamaslifesciencestandardsstartoffonfairlyrm

footingcellsandtissues,photosynthesis,andplantand

animalspeciesareallwellhandled.Infourthgrade,forexample,studentsareto:

[Classiy] common organisms into kingdoms, including

Animalia, Plantae, Protista, Fungi, Archaebacteria, and

Eubacteria. (grade 4)

Therearesomeintimationsofevolutionintheearlygrades,

asinthefollowing:

Identiy characteristics o animals, including behavior,

size, and body covering.

Comparing existing animals to extinct animals

Examples: iguana to stegosaurus, elephant to

wooly mammoth. (grade 2)

Describe evidence o species variation due to climate,

changing landorms, interspecies interaction, and

genetic mutation.

Examples: ossil records over geologic time,

rapid bacterial mutations due to environmental

pressures. (grade 7)

Atthehighschoollevel,biologyismostlygoodandincludes

somebiochemistryandlotsofgeneticsandenvironmental

material.Thehighschoolcourseelectivesgenetics,botany,andhumanphysiologyarealsosubstantive.Thatsaid,there

isoneglaringdecitwiththeAlabamabiologystandards.

Evolution,whichshouldbeafront-and-centerfeatureof

genetics,isallbutabsent.

AlabamaisclearlyfrightenedbytheE-wordaphobia

fromwhichmostotherstateshaverecovered.Theterm

evolutionoccursexactlyonceinthebasicbiologycourse,

oncemoreinthegeneticselectivecourse,notatallinany

oftheothersevenlifescienceelectives,and(despitethose


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intimations)neverpriortohighschool.Perhapsthisisnot

surprising,giventhattheAlabamaDepartmentofEducation

ofciallyconsiderscreationism,anexplicitlyreligiousand

non-scienticposition,tobeaformofevolution. 2

Thehighschoolbiologycoursehasonlythistosayabout

evolution:

Describe protective adaptations o animals, including

mimicry, camoufage, beak type, migration, and

hibernation.

Identiying ways in which the theory o evolution

explains the nature and diversity o organisms

Describing natural selection, survival o the ttest,

geographic isolation, and ossil record. (high school

biology)

Theoddimplicationhereisthatevolutionandnatural

selectionaresub-categoriesofthelistedadaptations,ratherthanthecenteroftheentirestudy.Whatareotherwise

reasonablestandardsaremarredbythisagrantomissionof

thiscentraltenetofthelifesciences.

Withbutafewbrightspotsinindividualcategories,

Alabamassciencestandardsearnalamentablethreeout

ofsevenforcontentandrigor.(SeeAppendixA:Methods,

Criteria,andGradingMetric.)

Clarity and SpecifcitySomeofAlabamasstandardsarepresentedclearly,

particularlythoseforlifescience.WheretheYellowhammer

Statestumblesisinitsspecicity.Thecontent,providedin

listform,isoftenskimpyandlacksthedetailneededtoguide

instruction.Inhighschoolphysicalscience,forexample,

studentsareaskedtoexplaintherelationshipbetween

electricityandmagnetism.Thatisatoo-quickonce-

overforatopicthat,ataminimum,requiresinquiryinto

AmpreslawandFaradayslaw.Suchnebulousstandardsare

especiallycommonwithsomeofthemorecomplexscience

topicssuchasdeeptimemakingitevenlesslikelythat

studentswilllearntheessentialcontenttheyneed.

Furthermore,carelesswritingabounds,resultinginsome

standardsthataresimplywrong:

2MichaelSibley,directorofcommunicationsfortheAlabamaDepartment

ofEducation,recentlyexplainedthestatesposition,saying:TheAlabama

CourseofStudydealswithTheoriesofEvolutionCreationismisone

ofthosetheories.SeeJoshuaRhettMiller,ClaimsthatBiblesWere

DistributedtoAlabamaElementaryStudentsAreInaccurate,School

SuperintendentSays,Foxnews.com,March24,2011,http://www.foxnews.

com/us/2011/03/24/alabama-superintendent-denies-claims-bibles-

distributed-class/#ixzz1IVCPjXe0 .

[Determine] the resultant o collinear orces acting on a

body

Example: solving problems involving the eect o

a tailwind or headwind on an airplane. (high school

physical science)

Whiletheexampledoesinvolvetheadditionoftwocollinear

vectors,theyarecertainlynotforces!

Takentogether,theseissueslowerAlabamasclarityand

specicityscoretoaoneoutofthree.(SeeAppendixA:

Methods,Criteria,andGradingMetric.)
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/03/24/alabama-superintendent-denies-claims-bibles-distributed-class/#ixzz1IVCPjXe0http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/03/24/alabama-superintendent-denies-claims-bibles-distributed-class/#ixzz1IVCPjXe0http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/03/24/alabama-superintendent-denies-claims-bibles-distributed-class/#ixzz1IVCPjXe0http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/03/24/alabama-superintendent-denies-claims-bibles-distributed-class/#ixzz1IVCPjXe0http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/03/24/alabama-superintendent-denies-claims-bibles-distributed-class/#ixzz1IVCPjXe0http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/03/24/alabama-superintendent-denies-claims-bibles-distributed-class/#ixzz1IVCPjXe0


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OverviewWhenFordhamrstlookedatAlaskassciencestandardsmorethantenyearsago,theentiredocumentwasthreepageslong.Itcontainedsolittleinformationthatitcould

notbereviewed.Althoughthecurrentiterationisbulkier,thestandardsstillcomprise

justtwenty-sevenpagesforallgrades,threethrougheleven.(Alaskaprovidesno

sciencestandardsforKindergartenthroughsecondgradeortwelfthgrade.)Theyare

thinice,indeed,forcurriculumdevelopers,testwriters,parents,orteachers.

Organization o the StandardsTheAlaskasciencecontentstandardsbriefastheyarearedividedintoseven

strands:scienceasinquiryandprocess;conceptsofphysicalscience;conceptsoflife

science;conceptsofearthscience;scienceandtechnology;culture,social,personal

perspectives,andscience;andthehistoryandnatureofscience.Foreachstrand,thestateprovidesthreeorfourbroadstandardsmeanttospanallgrades.Forexample,in

theconceptsoflifesciencestrand,astudentwhomeetsthecontentstandardshould

developanunderstandingofthestructure,function,behavior,development,life

cycles,anddiversityoflivingorganisms.

Aseconddocumentpresentingperformancestandardsfurtherarticulatesthecontent

standards.Itprovidesgrade-levelexpectationsforeachofthebroadcontentstandards

forallgrades,3-11.

Content and RigorBetweenwhatismissingandwhatisshortchanged,itishardtoconsidertheAlaskadocumentasetofrealstandardsatall.Indeed,thestatemakesnoprovisionforhigh

schoolbiology,chemistry,orphysics,leavinganenormousbodyofessentialcontent

completelyuntouched.


FourofAlaskassevenstrands(describedabove)addressscienticinquiryand

methodology:scienceasinquiryandprocess;scienceandtechnology;cultural,social,

personalperspectives,andscience;andhistoryandnatureofscience.Allbutthelast

sufferfromanover-eagernesstogivevoicetodifferentwaysofthinkingratherthan

SCIENCE



Clarity and Specifcity 1/3 2/10F

Content & Rigor 1.2


Physical Science 2

Physics 0

Chemistry 0


Lie Science 2



Document(s) Reviewed

Alaska Content Standards: Science;

Fourth Edition.RevisedMarch2006.

Accessedfrom:http://www.eed.state.ak.us/

contentstandards/Science.html

Alaska Science Performance Standards

(Grade-Level Expectations).2005.Accessed

from:http://www.eed.state.ak.us/tls/

assessment/GLEHome.html

REPORT CARD
http://www.eed.state.ak.us/contentstandards/Science.htmlhttp://www.eed.state.ak.us/contentstandards/Science.htmlhttp://www.eed.state.ak.us/tls/assessment/GLEHome.htmlhttp://www.eed.state.ak.us/tls/assessment/GLEHome.htmlhttp://www.eed.state.ak.us/tls/assessment/GLEHome.htmlhttp://www.eed.state.ak.us/tls/assessment/GLEHome.htmlhttp://www.eed.state.ak.us/contentstandards/Science.htmlhttp://www.eed.state.ak.us/contentstandards/Science.html


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SCIENCE Alaska FGRADE

tooutlinespeciccontentthatstudentsshouldmaster.For

instance,inthecultural,social,personalperspectives

strand,studentsaretodevelopanunderstandingthatsome

individualsuseotherbeliefsandmethodsinadditionto

scienticmethodstodescribetheworldandtodevelop

anunderstandingoftheimportanceofrecordingandvalidatingculturalknowledge.Whiletheseareadmirable

goals,theyarenotcentraltoaneducationinthesciences.

Indeed,thereismuchmentionoflocalknowledgeandhow

itcorrelateswiththesciencestandards.Inearlygrades,

studentsareaskedtoexplorelocalortraditionalstories,

explainanaturalevent,connectthesestoriestoobservations

ofnature,andidentifymultipleexplanations(e.g.,oral

traditions,folklore,scientictheory)ofeverydayevents.

Again,althoughexploringculturalheritageisavaluableand

necessarypartofeducation,itdistractsfromthematterat

handeducationinscienticpracticeandcontent.

Incoherenceabounds.Infourthgrade,studentsareexpected

tosupporttheirideaswithobservationsandpeerreview;

howthelatteristofunctionisleftunstated.Ineleventh

grade,studentsshouldbeabletodescribetheimportance

oflogicalarguments(i.e.,thoughtexperimentsbyEinstein,

Hawking,Newton).Butthereisscantevidencethatthe

studentshavebeengiventheopportunitytoacquirethe

scienticbackgroundwithoutwhichsuchdescriptionis

empty.

Physical Science/High School Physics/High School

Chemistry

TheawsinAlaskastreatmentofphysicalscienceare

impressive.Thesolementionofelectricalcircuits,inninth

grade,isthis:Thestudentdemonstratesanunderstanding

ofhowenergycanbetransformed,transferred,and

conservedbyrecognizingsimpleelectricalcircuits.But

atleastthephraseappears.Areaderwouldsearchinvain

forothercriticalterms:acidsandbases,atomicnumberand

atomicmass,formulas,chemicalequations,isotopes.

Thephysicalsciencecategoryalsoisrifewithoutright

errors.Inthefth-gradeexpectations,forexample,students

shouldbeabletoclassifythechanges(i.e.,heat,light,sound,

andmotion)thatelectricalenergyundergoesincommon

householdappliances(i.e.,toaster,blender,radio,lightbulb,

heater).Thatsinaccurate(andpoorlywritten).Heat,light,

sound,andmotionarenotchanges.

Similarly,studentsareaskedrsttorecognize(in

thirdgrade)andthentoexplain(infourthgrade)how

temperaturechangescausechangesinphasesofsubstances

(e.g.,icechangingtoliquidwaterandliquidwatertowater

vapor.Butthatswrong.Heat,nottemperature,causes

phasechanges;temperatureremainsconstantduringaphase

change.


TheAlaskastandardsforearthandspacescienceare

woefullyinadequate.Inastatewherenatureisspectacular

gorgeousglaciers,activevolcanoes,historyofagreat

earthquake,mountains,activesubduction,beautifulrocks

andmineralsthestandardsprovidenounderstandingor

appreciationofit,withtheexceptionofamentionofthe

aurora.Forinstance,despitethefactthatvolcaniceruptions

andearthquakesarearealhazardinthestate,theyareonly

mentionedtwiceonceinsixthgradeandonceinseventh.

Andeventhen,thecoverageisfartoobroadandignores

theworkingsoftheseimportantphenomena.Studentsare

askedonlytodescribehowthesurfacecanchangerapidlyasaresultofgeologicalactivities(i.e.,earthquakes,tsunamis,

volcanoes,oods,landslides,avalanches)insixthgradeand

todescribehowthemovementoftectonicplatesresults

inbothslowchanges(e.g.,formationofmountains,ocean

oors,andbasins)andshort-termevents(e.g.,volcanic

eruptions,seismicwaves,andearthquakes)onthesurfacein

seventhgrade.

Thecoverageofothertopicsisequallysupercialor

nonexistent.Thewordmineralappearsonlyoncein

theentiredocument,anditisbeforethewordrights

ineleventhgrade.Therockcycleismentionedinseveral

grades,butonlysedimentaryprocessesreceiveanydetailed

coverage.Starsarementionedinanumberofcontexts,

butnotasorganizationofmatter,andgalaxiesaremissing

entirely.

Weatherisreasonablywellcovered.Inthirdgrade,students

areaskedtodemonstrateanunderstandingofcycles

inuencedbyenergyfromthesunandbyEarthsposition

andmotioninoursolarsystembyusingrecordedweather

patterns(e.g.,temperature,cloudcover,orprecipitation).

Inseventhgradetheyareaskedtodescribetheweather

usingacceptedmeteorologicalterms(e.g.,pressuresystems,

fronts,precipitation).Climateisalsocoveredadequately,if

uninspiringly,inhighschool.

Lie Science

Acrossallgrades,theAlaskastandardscontainlittleuseful

contentinbiologylessthanwhatisconveyedinmost

statesmiddleschoolstandardsalone.Forexample,high

schoolstudentsareto[relate]thestructureofDNAto

characteristicsofanorganism(grade11);to[explain]that

cellshavespecializedstructuresinwhichchemicalreactions


19/217


occur(grade10);andto[recognize]thatallorganismshave

chromosomesmadeofDNAandthatDNAdeterminestraits

(grade9).Whiletrue,thesestatementsaresogeneralthat

theyprovidenomeaningfulcontentordirectionastowhat

studentsshouldknoworbeabletodo.

Onebrightspotisphysiology,whichisreasonablywell

coveredandincludesseveralclearandrigorousstandards.

Forinstance,intenthgrade,studentsareaskedto

[explain]thefunctionsoforgansofmajorsystems(i.e.,

respiratory,digestive,circulatory,reproductive,nervous,

musculoskeletal,andexcretory).Unfortunately,the

incongruouspresenceofthisspecicsectionamidallthe

vaguenesslooksmorelikeafreakaccidentthanaglimpseof

substance.

Toits(limited)credit,Alaskadoesnotsplithairsabout

evolution,atleastinprinciple.Intheintroductorymaterial,thestandardssaythatastudentwhomeetstheconcepts

oflifestandardshoulddevelopanunderstandingofhow

scienceexplainschangesinlifeformsovertime,including

genetics,heredity,theprocessofnaturalselection,and

biologicalevolution,amongotherthings.

Sadly,thatadmirablystraightforwardrequirementzzles

quicklywiththeabsenceoffollow-through.Withoutspecic

contenttosupportit,thestatementofpurposelosesforce.

GivenAlaskasmountainouserrorsandsweeping

generalities,thestatecanearnnomorethanaoneoutof

sevenforcontentandrigor.(SeeAppendixA:Methods,


Clarity and SpecifcityWhiletheAlaskastandardsaregenerallyclearlywritten

andeasytofollow,thelackofspecicitymakesthem

virtuallyuseless.Nothingshortofscrappingthisdocument

andstartingfromscratch(orborrowingtherecipeofone

ofthenationsAstates)couldresultinausefulbasisfor

curriculumwriting,testpreparation,andtextbookwriting.

Worse,ontherareoccasionswheretheAlaskastandardsdostriveforspecics,theyoftendismayinglyoftenmissthe

mark.

Considertheeighth-gradesectiononchemistry,which

asksstudentstodemonstrateanunderstandingofthe

interactionsbetweenmatterandenergyandtheeffects

oftheseinteractionsonsystemsbyexploringchangesof

statewithincreaseordecreaseofparticlespeedassociated

withheattransferandbyexploringthroughavarietyof

models(e.g.,gumdropsandtoothpicks)howatomsmaybond

togetherintowelldenedmoleculesorbondtogetherin

largearrays.

Exactlyhowdoesonedemonstratebyexploring?Whatdoes

itmeantoexplore?Gointothelabandwatchicecubesmelt

orwaterboil?Howcantheseactivitiesbeconnectedtothespeedofparticles?(Morelikelythewritersmeantmolecules,

anunfortunateuseofthewrongterminology.)Fromthe

standards,atleast,itsimpossibletosay.

Thisoverabundanceofbuzzwords(likedemonstrateand

explore)furthercloudsthestatesalready-murkyscience

material.Assuch,Alaskasscoreforclarityandspecicity

isatroublingoneoutofthree.(SeeAppendixA:Methods,


SCIENCE Alaska FGRADE


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SCIENCE



Clarity and Specifcity 1/3 4/10D

Content & Rigor 2.8


Physical Science 4

Physics 0

Chemistry 0


Lie Science 3



Document(s) Reviewed1

Arizona Science Standards, Articulated

by Grade Level.March2005.Accessed

from:http://www.azed.gov/standards-

practices/science-standard/

1Fordhams2005evaluationalsoreviewedArizonas2005content-standards

document.Since2005,wehaveupdated

andimprovedtheevaluationcriteriaused

tojudgethestandards.(SeeAppendixA

foracompleteexplanationofcriteriaused

inthisreview.)Throughthisnewlens,

Arizonassciencegradedroppedfroma

BtoaD.Thecomplete2005reviewcan

befoundhere:http://www.edexcellence.

net/publications-issues/publications/

sosscience05.html.

REPORT CARD OverviewArizonassciencestandardsaregenerallyweakoncontentandareplaguedbydisorganizationandafrustratinglackofcohesion.Theseweaknessesunderminethe

abilityofthematerialtoserveasthefoundationforacomprehensiveK-12science

curriculum.

Organization o the StandardsArizonasK-8sciencestandardsaredividedrstintosixstrands:inquiryprocess;

historyandnatureofscience;scienceinpersonalandsocialperspectives;lifescience;

physicalscience;andearthandspacescience.Eachstrandisthendividedintoaseries

ofconcepts,andnally,grade-specicstandardsareprovided.

Thehighschoolstandardsarepresentedsimilarly,exceptthatonlyonesetofstandardsispresentedforallgrades,9-12.Highschoolphysics,chemistry,andbiologyarenot

coveredasseparatesubjects.

Content and RigorWhileitisnotalwaystreatedwithadequatedepthorrigor,muchoftheessentialK-8

contentstudentsshouldlearniscoveredbytheArizonastandards.Unfortunately,

coverageofcriticalhighschoolsciencematerialisspottyandunsystematic.Infact,the

standardsatthislevelreadmorelikeageneraloutlineorperhapsasetofscrambled

chaptertitlesfromatextbookthanacomprehensivesetofstandards.


Arizonasstandardsaddressingscienticinquiryandmethodologyarereasonably

strong.Bothprocessandhistoryofsciencereceiveexplicitmention.Attemptsto

setevolutionarytheoryintoacategoryseparatefromandinferiortootherscientic

theoriesareanticipatedandsuccessfullynegatedbyaskingstudentstoconsider

howscientistscontinuetoinvestigateandcriticallyanalyzeaspectsof[allscientic]

theories(grades9-12).

Unfortunately,therearedrawbacks,too.Afewoftheexamplesofhistoricalgureswho

havemadeimportantcontributionstoscienticinnovationsseemrelativelytrivial,
http://www.alsde.edu/html/sections/documents.asp?section=54&sort=4&footer=sectionshttp://www.alsde.edu/html/sections/documents.asp?section=54&sort=4&footer=sectionshttp://www.edexcellence.net/publications-issues/publications/sosscience05.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publications-issues/publications/sosscience05.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publications-issues/publications/sosscience05.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publications-issues/publications/sosscience05.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publications-issues/publications/sosscience05.htmlhttp://www.edexcellence.net/publications-issues/publications/sosscience05.htmlhttp://www.alsde.edu/html/sections/documents.asp?section=54&sort=4&footer=sectionshttp://www.alsde.edu/html/sections/documents.asp?section=54&sort=4&footer=sections


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SCIENCE Arizona DGRADE

asiffavoringinclusivenessoveruniversalsignicance.Take

thefollowingexamples:SallyRide(grade1);DanielHale

Williams,CharlesDrew,andElizabethBlackwell(grade2);

PercyLavonJulian(grade5);andWalterandLuisAlvarez

(grade7).Inaddition,Arizonaplacesfartoomuchemphasis

oninquiry,historyandnatureofscience,andscienceinpersonalandsocialperspectives.

Physical Science/High School Physics/High School

Chemistry

ThephysicalsciencestandardsforKindergartenthrough

eighthgradehaveoccasionalashesofcompetence,though

neverbrilliance.Thecoverageofdynamics,forexample,is

verygood.

Unfortunately,therearealsomanyshortcomings.The

conceptsunderwhichthestandardsaregroupedareoften

poorlyconceived.Forexample,oneiscalledenergyandmagnetism.Whywouldthesetwosubjectsbeconjoined

whenworkbelongswithenergyandelectricitywith

magnetism?

Makingmattersworse,thestandardsgroupedbeneatheach

conceptoftendefyexplanation.Forinstance,aKindergarten

standardthatasksstudentstoinvestigatehowapplied

forces(pushandpull)canmakethingsmoveisoddly

groupedunderenergyandmagnetismratherthanunder

motionandforces.

Addingtotheseorganizationalproblems,thecontentofthestandardsisproblematic.Forinstance,whilestudents

areintroducedtoforcesandmotioninKindergarten,they

mustwaituntilfthgradetonallydiscerntheconnection

betweenthetwoconcepts,anditisntuntileighthgradethat

theymakeafull-edged,iflikelyonlypartiallyquantitative,

studyofNewtonslaws.

Furthermore,theearliestmentionofenergyinthe

physicalsciencesisinsixthgrade,wherefourstandards

addresselectricalgeneration,energystorage,methodsof

transformingenergy,convection,conduction,andradiation.

Uptothatpoint,however,therehasnotbeen(andneveris)

adenitionofenergyoradiscussionoftherelationbetween

workandenergy,ofkineticandpotentialenergy,orof

anythingotherthanthepracticalapplicationsjustnoted.The

onlyfollow-up,ineighthgrade,asksstudentstoinvestigate

howthetransferofenergycanaffectthephysicaland

chemicalpropertiesofmatter.Atallorder,indeed.

ThechemistrystandardsforKindergartenthrougheighth

gradeareequallyproblematic.Forstarters,chemistry

contentisagainmostlyrelegatedtofthandeighthgrades.

Thereiswoefullylittlebackgroundchemistrymaterialfor

Kindergartenthroughfourthgrade,andnothinginsixthand

seventhgrades.Indeed,thechemicalreactionsconcept,

whichembracesallofchemistry,appearsonlyatthehigh

schoollevel.

Thehighschoolstandardscoveringbothchemistryand

physicsarealsodistressinglyinadequate.Allofhighschool

chemistryiscoveredinelevenvaguesentences.And,while

thestandardsdoincludeaglossarythatdenesessential

scienticterms,equilibriumafundamentalconceptof

chemicalreactionsismissing.Inshort,thecontentneeded

toinformtraditionalhighschoolchemistryandphysics

coursesislargelyabsentfromtheArizonastandards.


TheArizonastandardsdocumentaddresses(oratleast

skimsover)agreatdealofearthandspacecontent.Laudably,

theconceptofgasisintroducedwithcareinsecondgrade,

bothingeneralandinthecontextofthestatesofwater.The

treatmentofbasicastronomyissolidinfthandseventh

grades.Astronomy,however,ismostlylimitedtothesolar

systemuntilhighschool.Thediscussionofrocksandfossils

inthirdgradeisstrong,andsomementionofearthstructure

andplatetectonicsappearsinseventhgrade.Byeshing

outtheindividualstandardswithmorespeciccontentand

detail,Arizonasearthandspacesciencestandardscouldbe

excellent.

Lie Science

WhatmaterialispresentedinArizonaslifescience

standardsisclearandprogressesadequatelythroughthe

grades.Unfortunately,thereareholesinthecontent,leaving

Arizonateacherswithaweakskeletonuponwhichtobuild

arigorouslifesciencecurriculum.Inareasimportantto

graspingmodernbiology,forexample,thestandardsare

skimpy,particularlypriortohighschool.Forexample,there

isonlyoneunitonthetopicofheredityineighthgrade,

whichgivesnoindicationofhowtheprinciplesaretobe

taught:

Explain the basic principles o heredity using the human

examples o:

eye color

widows peak

blood type. (grade 8)

Thissparsenessofcontentextendstohighschool,where

molecularbiologyandgeneticsgetlittleattention.Similarly,

inthehighschoolunitonevolution,therearebullet


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SCIENCE Arizona DGRADE

pointsthatincludemostimportantkeywords,butlittle

developmentofanyoftheconcepts.

Thereareafewexceptionstotherule:Ecosystemsarewell

coveredfromKindergartenthrougheighthgrade,andthe

earlycoverageofphysiologyisquiterobust.Beginningin

secondgrade,wehavesuchexamples:

Describe the basic unctions o the ollowing systems:

digestive breakdown and absorption o ood,

disposal o waste

respiratory exchange o oxygen and carbon dioxide

circulatory transportation o nutrients and oxygen.

(grade 2)

Onemaywonderwhetherthetypicalsecondgrader

canmanagematerialofthissophistication,butastrong

teachercouldproperlypitchtheessentialinformationattheappropriatelevelofrigor.Butthereisnocoverage

ofphysiologyatallatthehighschoollevel,whichis

disappointing,giventhissolidintroductionintheearly

grades.

WhiletheArizonastandardsoccasionallycoverkeyscientic

topicswiththeappropriatelevelofdepthandrigor,their

drawbacksaresignicant,andtheamountofcontent

missingparticularlyatthehighschoollevelleavesthe

GrandCanyonStatewithanaveragescoreofthreeoutof

sevenforcontentandrigor.(SeeAppendixA:Methods,


Clarity and SpecifcityTheArizonastandardssufferfromtwosignicant

drawbacks.First,theyfrequentlylackthespecicityneeded

todriverigorouscurriculumdevelopmentandinstruction.

Consider,forexample,thefollowingearthandspacescience

standard:

Analyze the evidence that lithospheric plate movements

occur. (grade 7)

Inthiscase,therearemanylinesofevidence.Whichshouldthestudentsanalyzeandwhatshouldthatanalysisconsist

of?

Similarly,thislifesciencestandarddescribesallof

biochemistryinfewerthantwentywords:

Describe the role o organic and inorganic chemicals

(e.g., carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, nucleic acids,

water, ATP) important to living things. (grades 9-12)

Sadly,thesearenotisolatedcases.

Second,theorganizationandpresentationofthedocument

isamess.Withafewexceptions,notablythediversity,

adaptation,andbehaviorconcept,thestandardsconsist

oflittlemorethanbroadlistsoftopicswithoutproper

sequencingordevelopment.

Takentogether,thesedrawbacksleaveArizonawithan

averagescoreofoneoutofthreeforclarityandspecicity.

(SeeAppendixA:Methods,Criteria,andGradingMetric.)


23/217

OverviewArkansaspresentsawell-organizedandgenerallysoundsetofsciencestandards,withthoroughandexcellenttreatmentofmostthoughnotalldisciplines.Curriculathat

arewellalignedtothisdocumentoughttobesolidlygroundedand,providedtheyare

staffedbyscienticallycompetentteachers,classroomsoftheNaturalStatecoulddoa

nejobofscienceeducation.

Organization o the StandardsArkansassK-8standardsaredividedintofourstrands:natureofscience,lifescience,

physicalscience,andearthandspacesystems.Eachstrandissub-dividedintotwoor

threestandards,coveringbroadnotionssuchascharacteristicsandprocessesof

scienceandlivingsystems:characteristics,structure,andfunction.Thestandards

arefurtherdividedintosubheadings,andnallyintograde-levelexpectations.

Atthehighschoollevel,thestandardsarepresentedsimilarlyexceptthatcourse-

specicexpectations,ratherthangrade-levelexpectations,arepresentedforanatomy

andphysiology,biology,chemistry,environmentalscience,physicalscience,and

physics.

Content and RigorTheArkansasstandardsdomanythingswell.Fornearlyeverydiscipline(earthand

spacescienceandphysicalscienceexcepted),theycoverallofourcriticalpointsof

contentwithsufcientrigorandattheappropriategradelevel.Theexamplesare

explicitandgenerallyspot-on,andconceptsdevelopoveradvancinggradespansbothofwhichmakeiteasytotracetheaccumulatingknowledgethatstudentswillobtainas

theyprogressthroughtheschoolsystem.


Thescienticinquiryandmethodologystandards,presentedwithinthenatureof

sciencestrand,aretheworstofthebunch.Here,studentsareaskedtodemonstrate

andapplyknowledgeofthecharacteristicsandprocessesofscienceusingappropriate

safetyprocedures,equipment,andtechnology.Unfortunately,theskillsthattheyare

toacquireinachievingthisgoalareaphoristicandhopelesslyvague.Forexample,


SCIENCE



Clarity and Specifcity 2/3 7/10B

Content & Rigor 5.2


Physical Science 5

Physics 7

Chemistry 7


Lie Science 7



Document(s) Reviewed

Arkansas K-8 Science Curriculum

Framework.Revised2005.Accessedfrom:

http://arkansased.org/educators/pdf/

science_k-8_011006.pdf

Arkansas High School Science

Curriculum Frameworks.Revised2005.

Accessedfrom:http://arkansased.org/

educators/curriculum/frameworks.

html#science

REPORT CARD
http://arkansased.org/educators/pdf/science_k-8_011006.pdfhttp://arkansased.org/educators/pdf/science_k-8_011006.pdfhttp://arkansased.org/educators/curriculum/frameworks.html#sciencehttp://arkansased.org/educators/curriculum/frameworks.html#sciencehttp://arkansased.org/educators/curriculum/frameworks.html#sciencehttp://arkansased.org/educators/curriculum/frameworks.html#sciencehttp://arkansased.org/educators/curriculum/frameworks.html#sciencehttp://arkansased.org/educators/curriculum/frameworks.html#sciencehttp://arkansased.org/educators/pdf/science_k-8_011006.pdfhttp://arkansased.org/educators/pdf/science_k-8_011006.pdf


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SCIENCE Arkansas BGRADE

studentsinfthgradeareaskedtosummarizethe

characteristicsofscience.Onehopestheirinstructorshave

aclearideaofwhatthesecharacteristicsare,becausethe

standardsgivenoindication.

Similarlycontent-freestandardscanbefoundthroughout.

Fourthgradersareaskedtoevaluatethequalityand

feasibilityofanideaorproject,withnohintastohow

theymightmakesuchanevaluation.Fifthgradersare

expectedtomakeaccurateobservations,butitisonlyin

sixthgradethattheyareexpectedtoverifytheaccuracy

oftheirobservations.Onemustwonderhowtheyknew

inthepreviousgradethattheyweremeetingtheirgoals

ofaccuracy.Atthehighschoollevel,studentsresearch

historicalandcurrenteventsinthecontentareas.Butthe

standardsgivenoindicationofwhateventsstudentsare

meanttoinvestigate,oreventowhatendstudentsshouldbe

doingsuchresearch.

Physical Science

TheArkansasphysicalsciencestandardsaregenerally

strong,andmostofthebasicconceptsareintroducedat

thepropergradelevel.Beginninginsecondgrade,students

makemeasurementsinSI(standardSystme International

dUnits,orInternationalSystemofUnits)withtherange

ofmeasurementsexpandingsystematicallygradebygrade.

Forceandmotionareintroducedinsecondgrade.Forceand

direction,aswellasforceandmass,areintroducedinfourth

grade.Eighthgradersrece

2012 State of State Science Standards FINAL[1]

Documents

Transcript of 2012 State of State Science Standards FINAL[1]