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Teachers Praise Florida's New Science Standards
By RONNIE BLAIR | The Tampa Tribune
Published: March 3, 2009
TAMPA - It was just a few minutes into the honors chemistry class at Wharton High School when teacher Wes Newton sent his students scurrying to the back of the classroom to begin their experiments.
Carmen Austin, head of Wharton's science department, said this perhaps is where analytical science teachers reveal the more daring side of their personalities.
They entrust teenagers with expensive lab equipment.
Sure, students might break things. Teachers know, though, that the best way to learn science is to put on some safety goggles and perform.
That is becoming truer than ever in Florida schools, where new science standards approved a year ago by the state Board of Education promote a hands-on approach that appears to be winning nods of approval from many teachers.
"The standards do allow a lot more freedom in the classroom," said Larry Plank, science supervisor for high schools in the Hillsborough County School District.
It may be just in time as the critical-thinking skills so essential in science could be key to helping the United States compete in the global economy.
Political leaders are taking notice, too. Gov. Charlie Crist declared this the year of science in Florida. President Barack Obama pledged in his inauguration speech to "restore science to its rightful place."
Florida students have a ways to go, though, in demonstrating their scientific acumen, based on past results of the science portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.
FCAT science scores lag behind scores for math. In elementary and middle schools the science scores also are much lower than reading. The science exam is given to students in grades five, eight and 11 and less than half the students are proficient in the subject.
In 2008, just 43 percent of Florida fifth-graders scored at the level the state considers proficient. For eighth-graders, it was 40 percent and for 11th-graders it was 38 percent.
This year's exam will be administered this month.
Educators say there could be several reasons why FCAT science scores still need a lot of work.
For one thing, the science exam hasn't been around as long as the reading and math exams, which began in 1998. Science was added in 2003.
That means students and teachers have had more time to learn how best to prepare for those other exams. Science scores are better than in 2003, but "students continue to struggle with developing a deeper understanding of scientific concepts," according to an analysis the state released last year.
Another possible factor is that high school students must pass FCAT reading and math to earn a diploma. That's not true for science.
"It's hard for kids to take it seriously when it's not a graduation requirement," said Laura Hill, who supervises the science curriculum for the Pasco County School District.
Plank points with some pride to the fact Hillsborough's 11th-grade students do much better on FCAT than many of their counterparts around the state, with 43 percent at the proficient level.
Still, the district looks for ways to improve. Plank said Hillsborough created a science coach position this year at one high school, Middleton High, and is promoting the hands-on approach at all the schools.
"What I tell teachers is, if we spend enough time increasing students' knowledge in science, that will be reflected in the test scores," Plank said.
Prior to upgrading the curriculum standards, the state recognized it had a number of problems on the science-education front. A few of the indicators included:
Florida had received poor ratings from nationally recognized science standards experts, such as the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.
Student performance was low on state, national and international assessments.
Graduating seniors were demonstrating a lack of preparation for postsecondary education and the workforce.
Nationally, the United States had fallen behind in the production of scientists and engineers.
Building Future Scientists
A statewide committee that included some Tampa Bay area teachers worked on the standards and several public hearings were held around the state.
Much of the public comment at that time became bogged down in a debate about evolution, but the standards covered much more ground than just whether schools would teach Darwin's theory. (They do.)
Depending on the grade level, the standards cover a host of material, such as the practice of science; the properties of matter; forms of energy; the role of theories, laws, hypotheses and models; and the characteristics of scientific knowledge.
Now, as schools put the new standards into action, educators hope the renewed focus on science will launch more students into careers in biology, chemistry, engineering and other science fields.
Even for students who choose a different career path, the problem-solving skills they pick up in science classes will prepare them to compete in what has become a global economy, Austin said.
"We need to have critical thinking going on," she said.
Blake Nold, 17, a Wharton High junior, is getting plenty of opportunities to hone his critical-thinking skills. He is taking honors chemistry and Advanced Placement biology.
"You just like to challenge yourself," he said.
Nold is unsure what direction his life might take, but science opens up definite career opportunities, he said.
To him, there's an added bonus.
"It's just a fun subject," Nold said.
Austin said teachers at Wharton High aren't finding the shift to the new standards that daunting.
"It hasn't been, 'Oh, gosh, we have something from out in left field we have to teach,' " she said.
High schools in Hillsborough County already had a lab component for science classes, along with a curriculum guide to keep teachers and students throughout the district on a similar schedule, Austin said.
All this extra emphasis on science comes at a time when school districts across the state face millions of dollars in revenue shortfalls and are trying to cut all but the most essential services.
Science supervisors, though, said they have avoided cuts that could have proved detrimental to the classroom.
Schools still get the money they need for classroom supplies, such as chemicals or frogs for dissection. That's a good thing. Those frogs can cost $3 to $4 a piece, Plank said.
Renewed Emphasis
Kathy Steiner, director of curriculum and instructional services in Pasco County, said schools find that parents appreciate the focus on science. More schools are holding science nights where parents and children visit the campuses after hours for star parties or other events.
"We're getting more parents interested and involved in science," Steiner said.
One school determined to put a renewed emphasis on the subject is Quail Hollow Elementary in Wesley Chapel.
Principal Michelle Berger said the school recognized a couple of years ago that FCAT science results were a problem and vowed to do better.
Last year, Quail Hollow's science scores took a significant jump, but more than half the students remained below the proficient level.
"So while we made a great leap, we were still not where we needed to be," Berger said.
Teachers decided to transform the school's Fun Fridays into Science Fridays, with every classroom from kindergarten to fifth grade conducting experiments on Friday afternoons. The school also started a science club that meets after school on Wednesday.
Fifth-grade teacher Lisa Decker, the science club sponsor and the school's go-to person on all things scientific, winces at the suggestion that Science Fridays and the club exist primarily to improve FCAT scores.
"The test is there," Decker said, "but in the big picture I want them to go to middle school and be successful."
Decker also hopes to cultivate a few future scientists, such as 10-year-old Victoria Cannon, who wants to become a marine biologist.
"I like to swim and I like learning about animals, and I think it would be a good job for me," Victoria said, "because it's both."
