Where has elementary science class gone?
A new report out by WestEd this week says that California elementary teachers are having a hard time fitting in science instruction. With increased attention, accountability, and assessments in English and math, science – they say – has fallen by the wayside. School days are dominated by remedial courses for English and math to push students to grade level, and funding is more often diverted to those two subjects, rather than to lab supplies or dissecting kits.
Forty percent of the elementary teachers surveyed in this WestEd report said that they spend no more than one hour on science instruction per week, and 60 percent of districts reported that they have no staff members dedicated to elementary science.
But California’s not the only state.
“It does confirm things we have seen in K-12 classrooms across the nation,” Dr. Francis Eberle, executive