[Scico-list] [ncse-news] Evolution education update April 19, NASSMC: NBS Forum Now Open, Top High Schools Fight Reduced Science Requirements, MN Gov. Raises Math Requirements

Thu Apr 20 12:58:47 MDT 2006

1.	[ncse-news] Evolution education update April 19 
2.	NASSMC: NBS Forum Now Open 
3.	Top High Schools Fight Reduced Science Requirements
4.	MN Gov. Raises Math Requirements

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Dear Friends of NCSE,

A special mid-week evolution education update.  Featured today:  a new
article on scientific literacy and the creationism/evolution
controversy.

"SCIENTIFIC ILLITERACY AND THE PARTISAN TAKEOVER OF BIOLOGY"

A new article in PLoS Biology (April 18, 2006) discusses the state of
scientific literacy in the United States, with especial attention to the
survey research of Jon D. Miller, who directs the Center for Biomedical
Communications at Northwestern University Medical School.

"To measure public acceptance of the concept of evolution," the article
explains, "Miller has been asking adults if 'human beings, as we know
them, developed from earlier species of animals' since 1985.  He and his
colleagues purposefully avoid using the now politically charged word
'evolution' in order to determine whether people accept the basics of
evolutionary theory.  Over the past 20 years, the proportion of
Americans who reject this concept has declined (from 48% to 39%), as has
the proportion who accept it (45% to 40%).  Confusion, on the other
hand, has increased considerably, with those expressing uncertainty
increasing from 7% in 1985 to 21% in 2005."

In international surveys, the article reports, "[n]o other country has
so many people who are absolutely committed to rejecting the concept of
evolution," quoting Miller as saying, "We are truly out on a limb by
ourselves."

The "partisan takeover" of the title refers to the embrace of
antievolutionism by what the article describes as "the right-wing
fundamentalist faction of the Republican Party," noting, "In the 1990s,
the state Republican platforms in Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma,
Oregon, Missouri, and Texas all included demands for teaching creation
science."  NCSE is currently aware of eight state Republican parties
that have antievolutionism embedded in their official platforms or
policies:

those of Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oregon,
and Texas.  Five of them -- those of Alaska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oregon,
and Texas -- call for teaching forms of creationism in addition to
evolution; the remaining three call only for referring the decision
whether to teach such "alternatives" to local school districts.

A sidebar to the article, entitled "Evolution under Attack," discusses
the role of NCSE and its executive director Eugenie C. Scott in
defending the teaching of evolution.  Scott explained the current spate
of antievolution activity as due in part to the rise of state science
standards:  "for the first time in many states, school districts are
faced with the prospect of needing to teach evolution. ... If you don't
want evolution to be taught, you need to attack the standards."
Commenting on the decision in Kitzmiller v. Dover, Scott told PLoS
Biology, "Intelligent design may be dead as a legal strategy but that
does not mean it is dead as a popular social movement," urging
scientists and educators to continue to resist to the onslaught of the
antievolution movement.  "It's got legs," she quipped.  "It will
evolve."

To read "Scientific Illiteracy and the Partisan Takeover of Biology,"
visit:

http://biology.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.13
71/journal.pbio.0040167

Thanks for reading!  And as always, be sure to consult NCSE's web site:

http://www.ncseweb.org <http://www.ncseweb.org/> 

where you can always find the latest news on evolution education and
threats to it.

Sincerely,

Glenn Branch

Deputy Director

National Center for Science Education, Inc.

420 40th Street, Suite 2

Oakland, CA 94609-2509

510-601-7203 x305

fax: 510-601-7204

800-290-6006

branch at ncseweb.org

http://www.ncseweb.org <http://www.ncseweb.org/>   

Eugenie C. Scott's Evolution vs. Creationism is now available:

http://www.ncseweb.org/evc

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NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF STATE SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS COALITIONS 
TITLE: "NASSMC NBS Online Forum Now Open"   

The NASSMC NBS Online Forum opens today with an article referring to a
recent paper by John D. Sterman (MIT Sloan School of Management) in the
American Journal of Public Health.  It will resonate strongly with
veterans of the long struggle for STEM education reform. Reader comments
are invited. 

Go to http://nassmc.org/nassmcor_forums/ to read the article. 

The NASSMC NBS Online Forum is a new feature of the Briefing Service.
The Online Forum publishes commentary from the leaders of NASSMC's
member coalitions or from invited contributors. Commentary, opinion or
editorials related to particular NASSMC briefs - or to key national
issues - will be posted with notice to NBS subscribers. 
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NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF STATE SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS COALITIONS
TITLE: "Top High Schools Fight New Science As Overly Simple" 

Parents in some affluent school districts are balking as school
officials change science curriculums to make the subject matter more
accessible to a broader array of students. Parents in San Diego and
elsewhere have protested that the changes are watering down the
curriculum and holding high-achievers back. 

The changes are spurred by the country's mediocre science scores on
international tests, and business leaders' concerns that fewer students
are pursuing careers in science and engineering. Additionally, No Child
Left Behind requires states to test students in science beginning next
year. 

By 2011, 27 states will require high school students to pass at least
three science courses to graduate. Preparing for that requirement means
fixing disparities among schools, and finding ways to engage more
minority students. 

San Diego sought to boost science learning across all district schools
by adopting programs that de-emphasize textbook learning, and use more
hands-on activities. They also shifted the order of high school science
classes and made them mandatory: physics first, followed by chemistry,
then biology. 

Parents in the affluent La Jolla area balked at the ninth-grade Active
Physics program, which uses booklets illustrated with cartoon
characters, and activity kits. Some teachers have found the program
helpful for low-achievers, while others have quietly stockpiled
traditional teaching materials. 

The district school board is now considering changing curriculums, and
possibly adding more math and science instruction during freshman year.
Though the program has been in place since 2001, more than 15 percent of
all 9th-graders are still failing Active Physics.   

SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, 13 April 2006 (p. A01) 
WEBSITE: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114488997269924686.html

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NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF STATE SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS COALITIONS
TITLE: "Pawlenty's math instruction goal might not add up" 

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has called for all eighth-graders to
take Algebra 1, and all high school students to pass Algebra 2 before
graduating. 
That boost in expectations will take considerable preparation, teachers
say. More rigor at the secondary level will require more training in
math instruction for teachers at all levels, as well as greater support
from parents. 

"The rigor has to start in the elementary schools and carry through to
the middle schools or they will not be ready for algebra by eighth
grade," said Mary Hoffman, an Algebra 1 teacher at Apple Valley Falcon
Ridge Middle School. "And rigor includes studying at home and parental
support."

The new math standards will be implemented, at the earliest, in the
2008-09 school year, according to state Education Commissioner Alice
Seagren. Minnesota lags behind other states in math achievement. In
2003, only 27 percent of Minnesota eighth-graders took Algebra 1,
compared with 31 percent nationally. Fifty-nine percent of the state's
high school graduates took Algebra 2, compared with 72 percent
nationally. 

The Rochester school district has emphasized math and science knowledge
at the elementary level since 1994, when they changed their hiring
policy to require all teachers to have at least nine quarter credits in
both math and science. The credits must be in content classes.

SOURCE: Pioneer Press, 13 April 2006
WEBSITE:
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/living/education/14328963.htm

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