National Science Education Standards

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The National Science Education Standards (NSES) are a set of guidelines for the science education in primary and secondary schools in the United States, as established by the National Research Council in 1996. These provide a set of goals for teachers to set for their students and for administrators to provide professional development. The NSES influence various states' own science learning standards (such as the Massachusetts Frameworks), and state-wide standardized testing.

1 Education Reform
2 Vision
3 Organization of the Standards
4 Critics
5 Notes
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Education Reform

The science standards is only one of a number of reforms organized around the principles of outcomes-based education. The mathematics counterpart are the controversial NCTM standards, which also de-emphasize knowledge of disconnected facts and content in favor of context-dependent critical thinking skills and process. Progressive education seeks to reform traditional education, taking into account current understandings of human learning.

[edit] Vision

The overview (National Academies Press) is based heavily on the commonly accepted model of learning, Constructivism (learning theory). Like standards-based mathematics, which is distinguished by an emphasis on building on what a child already knows and understands, the Standards also seek to redefine the very meaning and spirit of lifeless science instruction, which has been shown to have limited efficacy for the majority of children.

They outline what students need to know, understand, and be able to do
Scientifically literate at different grade levels.
All students demonstrate high levels of performance
Teachers are empowered to make the decisions essential for effective learning
Communities of teachers and students are focused on learning science
Educational programs and systems nurture achievement.
The Standards point toward a future that is challenging but attainable--which is why they are written in the present tense.
Can be expressed in a single phrase: Science standards for all students.
Embodies both 'excellence and equity.
The Standards apply to all students, regardless of age, gender, cultural or ethnic background, disabilities, aspirations, or interest and motivation in science.
Different students will achieve understanding in different ways
Different students will achieve different degrees of depth and breadth of understanding depending on interest, ability, and context.
All students can develop the knowledge and skills described in the Standards, even as some students go well beyond these levels.
Will require major changes in much of this country's science education.
Rests on the belief that science is an active process. Learning science is something that students do, not something that is done to them.
"Hands-on" activities, while essential, are not enough. Students must have "minds-on" experiences as well."
High expectations of science learning are set for all students
All students can increase their knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of science.
Teaching for depth of understanding of important science concepts is preferred, rather than recall of science facts.
Science literacy includes inquiry, history and nature of science, personal and social perspectives of science, science, and technology, in addition to the science domains of life science, physical science, and earth and space science.
Learning is an active process
The program should be developmentally appropriate, interesting, and relevant to students’ lives.^[1]

[edit] Organization of the Standards

The NSES are organized into six categories:

Standards for science teaching
Standards for professional development for teachers of science
Standards for assessment in science education
Standards for science content
Standards for science education programs
Standards for science education systems

[edit] Critics

Many critics of standards-based education reform and standards-based mathematics are also critical of the emphasis of the standards on process and inquiry-based science rather than learning of facts. Science assessments such as WASL in Washington state contain very little factual content, and most assessment is based on the ability of students as young as the fifth grade to construct and interpret science experiments. By contrast, previous generations of high school and even college students were only expected to participate in, rather than design science experiments from scratch, complete with a list of materials. The principles of the standards are similar to controversial approaches taken to mathematics and language arts which de-emphasize basic skills traditionally taught in elementary school as being inappropriate to the ability level of some students. Yet content and skills that were traditionally taught at the college level, requiring "higher order" and "critical thinking" are brought down to K-12 to "raise standards".