Listen to this – 2020 #4
THE NEED FOR SCIENCE
Standardized tests are generally a waste of time and money, but they do show what states require schools to emphasize in daily instruction. It’s no surprise that there’s been an “overall decline” in the time spent teaching science…which is not tested to the extent that reading and math are.
In Indiana, for example, all children in grades three through eight are tested every year in English/Language Arts and Math. Science is tested only in grades four and six, and then not again until subject area tests in high school (Social Studies is tested only in grade five before high school). Students in grade three have an additional reading test tied to a grade-level promotion.
There are standards for science in every grade, of course, and teachers are required to teach those standards every year, but the fact that they’re not tested tells the teachers and the students that they are “not important” and are CONTINUE READING: Listen to this – 2020 #4 | Live Long and Prosper