Parent Power! Helping You Make Sense of Schooling Today

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Published Monthly by
The Center for Education Reform
Jeanne Allen, President
www.edreform.com

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Early last year, the most comprehensive international study on science achievement placed the United States 16th out of 21 industrialized nations.
          While our national education goals expected students to emerge from 4th, 8th and 12th grade demonstrating competency in science (among other core subjects), we're far from reaching that goal. Ohio, for example, has strong science standards, but only a fraction of their children meet them.
          Why is the land of space shuttles, the microchip, and the Internet overrun by 15 other nations in science?

          Check this out:

• Forty percent of teachers in public schools never majored in science and 12 percent only minored in the subject. That means 28 percent of science teachers don't even have a background in science!
• Some schools don't require their students to take even a basic class in the sciences. Ninety-three percent of students take biology, 54 percent take chemistry and only 24 percent take physics.
• In California, science lessons that were appropriate for 7th graders in 1963 are now taught to 9th graders.
• Textbooks are riddled with errors. One dad found over 85 in one of the best selling science textbooks in the nation.

What should be expected?

          A well designed science curriculum will send a student home with in-depth knowledge of plants, animals, gravity, stars, electricity and much more. Not only will the student learn the facts about these topics, but she will also understand the general laws of nature, know important facts and ideas about the universe and be able to use some of the methods that scientists use. Finally, a good school will encourage a child to apply the concepts learned in science to other subjects and teach them how to systematically research, communicate and present their ideas.

What can you do?

          Check out your child's textbook. California has a watchdog group called The Textbook League (www.textbookleague.org) that provides independent, expert appraisals of textbooks that publishers are currently selling to schools. See if your child's book is one of over 120 books they have reviewed.
          Compare your child's science class to what Core Knowledge (www.coreknowledge.org) offers. Is he learning about the five senses in kindergarten, magnetism, plants and animals in 4th grade, or sound waves in 8th grade?
          How hands-on is the science program? One Arizona charter school, NFL-Yet, has created an entire eco-system outside the classrooms. The children feed the animals, watch nature evolve and tend to the vegetation.
          Ask questions! Does your science teacher know science or merely hold a credential? Is it an actual course of study? If it is your area of expertise, you might offer to help out!

More on Science ...