Op-ed: Is science education important to Florida?

Earlier this week I submitted an op-ed column to newspapers across the state on behalf of Florida Citizens for Science. Today the Gainesville Sun ran it. The Sun even ran a political cartoon with the column! A couple of other papers expressed an interest in it, but I haven’t gotten any confirmation that they’ll actually run it. We’ll just have to wait and see. Here is the full text of my op-ed:

Is science education important to Florida? That is a relevant question to ask after analyzing the 2009 science FCAT results released last week. There were minimal gains of one or two percent in the lower grades, but a disappointing 63 percent of 11th graders failed, scoring below a level three. There are bright spots in a few counties, but overall we are either mired in the tar pit of an inadequate testing system for science, or our students have a shockingly poor understanding of basic science concepts. Quite likely, both explanations are equally valid.

The science FCAT was established with good intentions. When the subject is on the FCAT schedule, schools must invest time and resources into teaching it or be penalized with poor school grades. Unfortunately, the science FCAT is saddled with difficulties that other FCAT subjects aren’t. The number one deficiency is that failing the science test holds no sway over students’ promotion or graduation, but those same failures can drag a school’s grade down. This leaves schools scrambling to find ways to motivate students to take the test seriously and to even show up in the first place. Many schools resort to blatant bribery just to get butts into seats on test day.

Another 11th-grade science FCAT problem is that it covers multiple science disciplines. If a student took an earth-space course in 9th grade, what are the chances testable details will be remembered two years later? Florida Citizens for Science has heard from science teachers who say they’ve been forced to interrupt their own courses to spend time reviewing other science subjects in preparation for the FCAT. State legislators attempted to address this problem through a bill that would have eliminated the 11th-grade science FCAT and possibly replaced it with some end-of-course tests. The bill failed to gain enough support and died.

Yet another concern relates to the very nature of the test: students have to read and comprehend. As a result, this becomes just as much a reading comprehension test as it does a science exam. Struggling readers are going to fumble the FCAT regardless of science competence. Additionally, students who have fun looking through microscopes and telescopes don’t get to exhibit that interest filling in bubbles on an answer sheet.

Do the above listed test problems absolve Florida of science education woes? No, there are other assessments to look at. For instance, a report called “Taking the Pulse of Bioscience Education in America: A State by State Analysis” was issued this year. Florida was listed in the bottom category: lagging, which is a euphemism for failure. The National Assessment of Educational Progress, commonly referred to as The Nation’s Report Card, looked at science proficiency across the country in 2005. Florida’s 8th-graders didn’t do well, with 49 percent scoring below the basic science comprehension level. The next science report card from NAEP is expected in the spring of 2010.

Science and technology are the big career fields of today and tomorrow. Our state’s leaders have been working hard to grow the bio-tech industry here, but Florida’s future workforce needs a sound basic science education to compete for these jobs. However, Florida’ budget woes will strangle the life out of the very future so many people are pinning their hopes on. We must pressure our political leaders from the local level all the way up to Tallahassee to find ways to properly fund science education, including recruiting and retaining qualified science teachers and giving them needed training and support.

There is hope, though. Florida has a strong set of new state science standards. There are leaders rising up, both in politics and the education system itself, who are bringing attention to problems with the science FCAT and science education in general. And we have great science teachers, science supervisors, and concerned citizens all working together to strengthen Florida’s science education.

About Brandon Haught

Communications Director for Florida Citizens for Science.
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One Response to Op-ed: Is science education important to Florida?

  1. mtarnowski says:

    Great editorial from start to finish. I hope it gets wide play across the state. In the fifth graf, you astutely note: Yet another concern relates to the very nature of the test: students have to read and comprehend. As a result, this becomes just as much a reading comprehension test as it does a science exam. Struggling readers are going to fumble the FCAT regardless of science competence.

    I’ve just finished scouring a number of newspaper sites and “education” blogs looking in vain for one word of concern — never mind outrage! — that just 37 percent of Florida’s 10th graders seem capable of reading at the 10th grade level, the level required for graduation. And that percentage is down a point from last year and on par with 2001 scores. If 37 percent of my students failed my classroom tests, I would be doing something terribly wrong, right? What exactly is going in Florida schools when two-thirds of our students can’t read at the 10th grade level?

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