A Class of 51

milhayser — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:52:35 +0000

A Class of 51

The Fordham Institute recently released their assessment of state science standards with a handy color-coded map—and California was the only state to receive a solid "A," along with the District of Columbia. On Pharyngula, PZ Myers wonders how his state will ever get into college with a lowly "C." He writes, "The Institute does a fairly thorough breakdown, so there are some bright spots: Minnesota is doing a good job in the life sciences, but where we got dinged hard was on the physical sciences, which are 'illogically organized' and contain factual errors." But at least Minnesota wasn't one of the twenty-seven states to get a "D" or an "F." Greg Laden repaints the Institute's map with only two colors, making a "Pass/Fail" version of the assessment. At first glance the blocks of red and blue look electoral, but much of the South is blue with passing grades, while Oregon and half of New England are red for failure. Obviously, the quality of education depends on complexities far exceeding geographical and political alignment. Greg Laden writes, "It is an interesting report to browse through, and you can get your PDF copy of it here for free! Also, have a look at this overview from the NCSE. How did your state do?"

Your state's report card on Pharyngula
The State of State Science Standards on Greg Laden's Blog

Posted to the homepage on February 2, 2012.

milhayser Wed, 02/15/2012 - 04:52