Iris Weiss, in a study of the science curriculum found that half of all sciences in grades 10 -12 are biology and life science, with most of the rest chemistry and physics. Furthermore, over 95 percent of secondary classes use published textbooks and programs, although fewer than one in five science teachers reported they cover the entire book (see the chart below) And only two textbook publishers account for more than half the textbook useage in secondary science.
Percentage
of Text Coverage Grades
7 - 9 Grades
10 -12 Less than 25
percent 25 - 49
percent 50 - 74
percent 75 - 90
percent More than 90
percent 10 27 39 20
11 37 33 15
These facts describe the picture of the traditional science curriculum. Although the United States does not have a national curriculum, the evidence from survey research studies shows that the American secondary science curriculum can be described in terms of a few science textbooks, about five or six different kinds of courses, and with a limited variety of instructional techniques.
Weiss reports that lecture and discussion are the mainstays of the high school science curriculum. In 1977, lecture and discussion were considerably more common than laboratory activities, and in the a more recent study (1986), the same was found, only the difference was even greater. In the most recent report (1997), the textbook still dominates high school science instruction.
When a randomly selected sample of high school science teachers was asked what their most recent lesson was, three out of four in 1977 said it was a lecture/discussion lesson, and slightly more than half said it included hands-on. In 1986, more than 80 percent reported lecturing as their most recent lesson, and only 40 percent said they used a hands-on lesson.
The science curriculum in American schools has been described as layer cake model. In the layer cake model, a different science course is offered each year as the student progresses through the science curriculum. This stacking of one science course on top of another is the pattern that was established in the early part of the century. However, the model is actually more complicated than that.
The National Science Teachers Association recommended a radical change in the science curriculum model that is employed in most school systems in the U.S. Borrowing on the models in other countries, especially the science curriculum of the former Soviet Union, the NSTA Scope, Sequence & Coordination Project recommended offering four strands (biology, chemistry, Earth science, physics) that would run through the science curriculum from grades 7 throught 12. Each year, students would be exposed to each strand; that is they would have experiences in biology, chemistryt, earth science and physics starting in grade 7.
Although not all school systems track students, the pattern shown here is typical (see the chart below). Survey courses are designed for students who are either at-risk, or have not performed very well academically. General courses are for the large population of secondary students---the average student who is college bound, but not necessarily focusing on science. Accelerated and advanced placement courses are designed for high school students who are contemplating a career in science or mathematics in college, and who have been successful in previous mathematics and science courses.
The chart below shows the science curriculum for one of the largest school systems in the Southeast for the years 1995 - 2000. Notice that for each subject there are survey, general and accelerated (or advanced) courses. And for juniors and seniors, many school systems offer advanced placement courses in which the student can earn college credit for a high school science experience. Also note that at the 11th and 12th grade levels, there are elective courses in marine biology, biology II, and anatomy and physiology.
Life Science
(Prentice-Hall, 1988) Survey General Accelerated Earth Science
(Prentice-Hall, 1988) Earth Science
(Prentice-Hall, 1988) Earth Science
(Silver Burdett, 1987) Survey Biology Accelerated Physical
Science (D.C. Heath, 1987) Physical Science
(Prentice-Hall, 1988) Physical Science
(Addison-Wesley, 1988) Modern Biology
(Holt, 1989) Survey General Accelerated Biology: An Everyday
Experience (Merrill, 1988) Biology (HBJ,
1989) Modern Biology
(Holt, 1989) Survey Biology Biology
II ChemCom: Chemistry
in the Community (Kendall/Hunt, 1988) Chemistry: A Study
of Matter (Prentice-Hall, 1989) Chemistry
(Addison-Wesley, 1987) Chemistry (Random
House, 1988) Biology
(Addison-Wesley, 1987) Marine Biology
(Benjamin/ Cummings, 1986) Essential of Human
Anatomy & Physiology (William C. Brown, 1989) Physics I Conceptual
Physics Physics
II Advanced
Placement Modern Physics
(Holt, 1990) Conceptual Physics
(Addison-Wesley, 1987) College Physics
(HBJ, 1987) College Physics
(HBJ, 1987)