How to Improve U.S. Education

Abstract

In a recent Newsmaker Interview (“Arne Duncan hopes a team approach will improve U.S. schools,” J. Mervis, 10 April, p. [159][1]), Education Secretary Arne Duncan responded to a question about whether there is a consensus regarding what students should know about science before leaving high school. He replied that “…across the board, we need to get clearer, higher, fewer standards.” He is apparently unaware of the K–12 science learning goals developed in an unprecedented undertaking by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) ([ 1 ][2]–[ 3 ][3]) or of those formulated by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) ([ 4 ][4]). Duncan must understand that we simply do not need another definition of what students have to know before they leave high school in order to move ahead with substantial reform. The windfall monies now available to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) can potentially put the United States on track to realize fundamental and lasting improvements in the quality and availability of science education. But the funds may well be wasted if they are invested in an array of panic-driven quick fixes. Thus, ED and NSF must work together to design a long-term plan of action that focuses on the attainment of the learning goals in the AAAS and NAS documents ([ 1 ][2]–[ 4 ][4]); interrelates programs for improving teacher preparation, redesigning school science curricula ([ 5 ][5]), and developing teaching materials and assessment instruments; carries out the serious cognitive research and data collection needed to inform those undertakings; and takes into account the lessons of the past, both positive and negative ([ 6 ][6], [ 7 ][7]). Achieving these goals will not be easy, but it is possible and even necessary—and the leadership of AAAS and Science can be crucial to the success of this agenda. 1. [↵][8]American Association for the Advancement of Science, Science for All Americans (Oxford Univ. Press, New York, 1989). 2. American Association for the Advancement of Science, Benchmarks for Science Literacy (Oxford Univ. Press, New York, 1993). 3. [↵][9]American Association for the Advancement of Science, Atlas of Science Literacy (National Science Teachers Association Press, Washington, DC, 2001). 4. [↵][10]National Research Council, National Science Education Standards (National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 1996). 5. [↵][11]American Association for the Advancement of Science, Designs for Science Literacy (Oxford Univ. Press, New York, 2000). 6. [↵][12]1. S. L. Helgeson, 2. R. E. Stake, 3. I. R. Weiss 4. et al ., The Status of Pre-College Science, Mathematics, and Social Studies Educational Practices in U.S. Schools: An Overview and Summaries of Three Studies (U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1978). 7. [↵][13]1. F. J. Rutherford , J. Sci. Ed. Technol. 14, 4 (2005). [OpenUrl][14] 8. The author is a former Chief Executive Officer of AAAS. [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.324.5924.159 [2]: #ref-1 [3]: #ref-3 [4]: #ref-4 [5]: #ref-5 [6]: #ref-6 [7]: #ref-7 [8]: #xref-ref-1-1 View reference 1 in text [9]: #xref-ref-3-1 View reference 3 in text [10]: #xref-ref-4-1 View reference 4 in text [11]: #xref-ref-5-1 View reference 5 in text [12]: #xref-ref-6-1 View reference 6 in text [13]: #xref-ref-7-1 View reference 7 in text [14]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DJ.%2BSci.%2BEd.%2BTechnol.%26rft.volume%253D14%26rft.spage%253D4%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx