Last month, Fordham released the State of State Science Standards 2012. The first State of State Science Standards report was released in 1998; it was revisited in 2005 (and again this year). While the national average remained the same in 2012 as it did in 2005 (a dismal C), some states changed grades drastically. Kansas moved from an F to a B, and Colorado, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia dropped from Bs to Ds.
The study’s methodology worked like this: experts in different scientific fields evaluated all 50 states’ and the District of Columbia’s science standards. The grading falls into two parts. The first score is on a scale from 0-7 that analyzes the “content and rigor” of each state’s science standards; the second score is on a scale from 0-3 that analyzes the “clarity and specificity” of each state’s standards. These two grades are combined to give the state an overall number grade (up to 10) and then converted into a letter grade (A through F). California and D.C. tied for first place, both with 10 out of 10 points and an A. In last place is Wisconsin with 0 out of 10 and an F.
Ohio came in 13th in the nation with an overall grade of B. While that is better than the majority of other states, it’s nothing to brag about. As report co-author Lawrence Lerner said, “When it comes to academic standards… even a ‘B’ ought not be deemed satisfactory. In a properly organized education system, standards drive everything else. If they are only ‘pretty good,’ then ‘pretty good’ is the best the system is apt to produce by way of student learning. No state should be satisfied with such a result. Hence, no state should be satisfied with less than world-class standards in a core academic subject such as science.”
