The Challenges We Face

Schools and teachers need access to quality subject-area professional development programs if they are to meaningfully address the challenges. A few facts underscore the school systems' need for support:

• A report issued by top business and higher education leaders says the U.S. lackluster performance in science and math “has placed the country in grave danger of losing its competitive edge in the global marketplace.”
• The number of science and engineering degrees awarded to U.S. citizens is decreasing at a time when job growth in these fields is predicted.
• The performance trends of American students on comparative international assessments in mathematics and science chart a course of decline from near the top in elementary school to near the bottom by the end of high school.
• The failure of America to enroll all students in core mathematics and science curricula continues, while the skill levels in mathematics and science required for post-secondary education and employment are rising.
High poverty and high minority schools had a higher proportion of inexperienced science teachers than low poverty and low-minority schools.
Teachers can be more effective and improve student performance if they have strong academic skills.  In the elementary grades, many teachers feel inadequate when it comes to teaching science. Often they have received little or no training in science content.
In a review of nine middle school science textbooks by American Association for the Advancement of Science, it was found that the middle school textbooks were inadequate to teach students fundamental concepts.  Too many topics were covered.
The “No Child Left Behind” Law mandates that by 2005-06, states must test students in math and reading.  But, the testing of students in science need not occur until two years later in 2007-08.  This delay could tempt states and schools to put science on the back burner, especially in the early grades.
A report on MSNBC in 2004 stated that students found college science lectures boring.  Dr. Robert Beichner, a professor of Physics at North Carolina State University, said, “Educators were still not aware that there are better ways to teach science.”  A team of experts said that hands on activities and courses that “Mimicked the way real scientists actually work will help students learn and encourage them to take more science.”