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October 25, 2011
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American science performance is lagging as the economy becomes increasingly high tech, but our current science standards are doing little to solve the problem. Today Fordham is releasing “The State of State Science Standards 2012,” a new evaluation of science standards from every state and the District of Columbia, and our experts’ findings are deeply troubling: The majority of states earned Ds or Fs for their standards in this crucial subject, with only a handful of jurisdictions receiving As.
In particular, state standards struggled with vagueness and an overemphasis on “inquiry-based learning” instruction, while overwhelmingly failing to clearly convey the crucial connection between math and science. Although the treatment of evolution has improved since Fordham’s last assessment of state science standards in 2005, many states still miss the mark on teaching this vital topic.
As 26 states work with Achieve, Inc. to produce multi-state Next Generation Science Standards over the coming year, this report emphasizes both the urgency of their efforts and the stakes involved.
Explore all the state report cards to see how your state performed and register to attend or stream tomorrow’s panel discussion on the state of American science education, “What’s holding back America’s science performance?”