Making Science Make Sense

Bayer Facts of Science Education Survey

The question of how well our schools are doing teaching science has been at the center of the intense national debate on school reform in recent years. The answer depends largely upon the resources we apply to the task, the methods we use, and the amount of effort we put into it. Recognizing the influence that parents and a supportive home environment have on school, and that children learn outside, as well as inside the classroom, The Bayer Facts surveys examined both school and home environments for science learning. While the results continue to paint a complex picture of the state of K-12 science education, several general themes emerge.

First, though students have the least input into teaching (yet are the most affected by it) they were the most generous in their assessments. Overall, they believe their teachers like science, are enthusiastic about it and connect it to the world around them. A majority of elementary students give their science teachers an "A" grade, as do nearly half of the middle/high school students.

Second, for the most part parents and elementary school teachers share similar, generally positive opinions about the quality of current science teaching. Overall, both groups feel that students are receiving a good science education, with elementary school teachers more positive than parents. Though parents are more likely to assign teachers a "B" than an "A," many still believe their children are getting a better science education than they, themselves, did and most think their children's prospects for learning science are either "excellent" or "good." The main disagreement between elementary school teachers and parents is over the quality of the overall science curriculum. Whereas most elementary school teachers give it an "A" or "B," few of the parents do. In fact, half give it a "C" or less.

However, many K-12 science teachers who specialize in the subject are not at all confident that current elementary school science education is preparing students well for the coming century. And although their confidence about high school science teaching rises, most are only somewhat confident, and a quarter are not at all confident.

Scientists, too, voice considerable concern over the quality of both elementary and high school science education, giving today's science programs lower marks than their own science education. Across the board, scientists assign today's elementary and high school science education a "C-" and "C," respectively, compared to an average "C" and "B" they gave to the elementary and high schools they themselves attended.

When asked about teaching priorities, more than half of scientists surveyed say that both elementary and high schools place too little emphasis on science compared with other subjects. Three quarters of them think that science should be given the same priority in elementary school as reading, writing and arithmetic.

Consistent with these criticisms, few scientists believe the U.S. is doing well in reaching its goal of becoming first in the world in math and science education by 2000, despite the fact that most agree with the goal. Results of the Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS), which show U.S. student performance in science lagging behind that of students from other countries, reinforce the scientists' view. The TIMSS results are an accurate reflection of student performance, say K-12 science teachers.

OBSERVATION: Throughout the survey, overall optimism about the quality of education conflicts with specific concerns and criticisms. Here it is revealed by elementary school teachers' positive general opinions, despite discomfort with their own science training and expertise; parents mixed reviews of the quality of their children's education in science; a concern among scientists over the diminishing quality of science education today; and, K-12 science teachers' lack of confidence in the quality of elementary school science education, contrasted with general elementary school teachers. Optimism in the face of conflicting evidence is, perhaps, an American characteristic.

The issues of equality and access for all in the science classroom also reveal these conflicting opinions. Students today agree almost unanimously that science is just as much for girls as it is for boys, and that opinion persists through high school. A different story is told by scientists, recalling conditions decades ago when they were in school. At early ages the playing field appears to have been level, with both male and female scientists reporting that they developed an early interest in science. However, there are strong signs that gender equality eroded in school. A significant fraction believed that girls were encouraged less and participated less than boys in their science classes, a situation perceived more often by women than men and one more apparent in high school than in elementary school.

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