One barely noticed item in Governor Jerry Brown's proposed budget for 2012-'13 is the reduction of the high school graduation requirements to one year for science, reports Kerry Benefield for the Press Democrat.
The California Department of Finance (CDF) says the purpose of eliminating the2-year science mandate is to provide schools more flexibility:
H.D. Palmer, at left, deputy director for external affairs and spokesperson for the CDF, said the item is part of a larger push by the Brown administration to lift state requirements....“This is being put forward as a part of a broader proposal to provide school districts with greater flexibility and greater local control,” he said. It gives “greater empowerment to local school districts to make local decisions.”
The move comes as a shock to educators across California who hear the Obama administration calling for more scientists and more science teachers, yet know full well that once a program is no longer mandated, the funding is often redirected towards others that are considered more necessary.
Example: the home to school transportation program which had $248 million slashed from its budget in the midyear triggers that took effect in January 2012, is slated for elimination if voters don't approve Brown's proposed temporary tax increases.
Educators also worry because federal mandates in No Child Left Behind focus primarily on English language arts and math skills -- meaning that schools may cut the second science class to fund support classes in English and math.
“Truth be told, there are some schools already doing that,” said Phil Lafontaine, director of professional development and curriculum support division at the state Department of Education.
“There are some ramifications there in that the inequality could be children of poverty, children of low means, children that are struggling in school may not get science,” he said. “How are they going to be competitive with children who are getting two, three, even four years?”
The elimination of the 2-year high school science requirement is troubling because, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NEAP), the "nation's report card", revealed that only 21% of U.S. students scored proficient or above on questions about life/earth/space science.
Moreover, the 2011 California STAR test results show that only 49% of 12th graders passed biology at proficient or above, 38% passed chemistry, 35% passed earth science, and 52% passed physics.
At the elementary level, a recent study (November 2011) led by the Lawrence Hall of Science at UC Berkeley found (only) 10% of elementary school students regularly get hands-on science lessons and 1/3 of elementary school teachers feel prepared to teach science.
And the dearth of in-depth science study is more acute on campuses that serve low-income students, the study found.
Written for California's Children by Elizabeth J Carlyle.
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