In a recent article in Scientific American, it was suggested that the U.S. should adopt higher standards in science, and that all 50 states should adopt them.
When you check the literature on science standards, the main reason for aiming for higher standards (raising the bar) is because in the “Olympics” of international academic test taking, the U.S. never takes home the gold.… Read more
Is science and mathematics teaching inferior to science teaching in Singapore, South Korea, and Finland? Have American students fallen behind in math and science?
In the 2008 and 2012, Science Debate asked presidential candidates (as well as congressional candidates) why have American students fallen behind in science and mathematics and what role should the federal government play to better prepare students for the science and technology global economy?… Read more
Guest Post by Anthony Cody
Follow Anthony on Twitter at @AnthonyCody
Defenders of our current obsession over test scores claim that new, better tests will rescue us from the educational stagnation caused by a test prep curriculum. And one of those new types of tests is an adaptive test, which adjusts the difficulty of questions as students work, so that students are always challenged.
Educational reform desperately needs reform. Reform in education today is in the hands of Federal programs including the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and the Race to the Top Fund of 2009. Although states can submit “flexibility requests” to receive waivers on some aspects of the NCLB, the reforms that have been affecting American schools have based everything on testing students to “measure” their achievement in math and reading, as well as science and social studies.… Read more
According to Achieve, the U.S. system of science and mathematics education is performing below par, and if something isn’t done, then millions of students will not be prepared to compete in the global economy. Achieve cites achievement data from PISA and NAEP to make its case that American science and mathematics teaching is in horrible shape, and needs to fixed.
The solution to fix this problem to make the American dream possible for all citizens is to write new science (and mathematics) standards.… Read more
This was written by Anthony Cody, who spent 24 years working in Oakland schools, 18 of them as a science teacher at a high needs middle school. He is National Board certified, and now leads workshops with teachers focused on Project Based Learning. With education at a crossroads, he invites you to join him in a dialogue on education reform and teaching for change and deep learning.
The Art of Teaching Science is the personal blog of Jack Hassard. I am a writer, a former high school science teacher and Professor Emeritus of Science Education, Georgia State University. The blog reflects my opinions on science education and issues related to educational reform from a progressive science and education philosophy.
