Implementing "Higher" Earth Science Standards in New York State

by Michael J. Passow, Earth Sciences Correspondent

Following publication of the National Science Education Standards by the National Research Council in 1996, many people wondered how such "higher" standards would be implemented. New York has long been a state in which K - 12 science education focuses on meeting the requirements of the Regents examinations in earth science, biology, chemistry, and physics. It also was among the earliest to start development of responses to the calls for "educational reform" begun with A Nation At Risk. New York State's experiences may provide guidance for others seeking to implement "higher standards."

Even as the final version of the National Science Education Standards was eagerly awaited, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) was preparing its Learning Standards for Mathematics, Science, and Technology. This document includes seven "Standards" which are to form the basis for instruction and assessment. These general Standards areas follows:

1. Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering design, as appropriate, to pose questions, seek answers, and develop solutions.
2. Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate technologies.
3. Students will understand mathematics and become mathematically confident by communicating and reasoning mathematically, by applying mathematics in real-world settings, and by solving problems through the integrated study of number systems, geometry, algebra, data analysis, probability, and trigonometry.
4. Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment, and recognize the historical development of ideas in science.
5. Students will apply technological knowledge and skills to design, construct, use, and evaluate products and systems to satisfy human and environmental needs.
6. Students will understand the relationships and common themes that connect mathematics, science, and technology, and apply the themes to these and other areas of learning.
7. Students will apply the knowledge and thinking skills of mathematics, science, and technology to address real-life problems and make informed decisions.

(Note: These seven Standards are reduced from the nine reported in the 1994 draft version in our Fall 1994 issue. On-line versions of Learning Standards for Math, Science, and Technology, along with those for other subject areas, and other information about the NYSED products, including recent subject exams, can be found in their web site: www.nysed.gov.

Within each of these Standards are more specific, though still generalized, indications of what should be understood and, consequently, included in instruction. Science (Standard 4) is divided into two subtopics--"Physical Setting" and "Living Environment."

Within the "Physical Setting" are five "Key Ideas":

1. The Earth and celestial phenomena can be described by principles of relative motion and perspective.
2. Many of the phenomena that we observe on Earth involve interactions among components of air, water, and land.
3. Matter is made up of particles whose properties determine the observable characteristics of matter and its reactivity.
4. Energy exists in many forms, and when these forms change energy is conserved.
5. Energy and matter interact through forces that result in changes in motion.

Within the "Living Environment" are seven "Key Ideas":

1. Living things are both similar to and different from each other and nonliving things.
2. Organisms inherit genetic information in a variety of ways that result in continuity of structure and function between parents and offspring.
3. Individual organisms and species change over time.
4. The continuity of life is sustained through reproduction and development.
5. Organisms maintain a dynamic equilibrium that sustains life.
6. Plants and animals depend on each other and their physical environment.
7. Human decisions and activities have had a profound impact on the physical and living environment.

Each "Key Idea" in the Learning Standards will be assessed through "Performance Indicators" tested at "Elementary" (grades 4/5); "Intermediate" (grades 7/8); and "Commencement" (grades 9/12) levels. Based upon expectations of how these Standards will develop, the State Board of Regents (equivalent to the State Board of Education) has already adopted new graduation requirements. In order to graduate from a New York State public high school, all students must pass three years of science instruction based on these Standards, and pass at least one Regents examination in science (earth science, biology, chemistry, or physics). To receive what is currently being called "graduation with distinction," a student must pass two science exams.

While some critics claim that the exams will become easier as more students must take them, in order to avoid unacceptably high failure rates, proponents of the plan point out that many students who previously would not learn at the "Regents-level" will now be required to raise their skills and knowledge to meet these challenges.

To indicate expected increases in comprehension and depth of understanding over this progression, consider the "performance indicators" given for "Physical Setting" Key Idea 2 (above):

Elementary: Students describe the relationships among air, water, and land on Earth.

Intermediate: Students explain how the atmosphere (air), hydrosphere (water), and lithosphere (land) interact, evolve, and change. Students describe volcano and earthquake patterns, the rock cycle, and weather and climate changes.

Commencement: Students use the concepts of density and heat energy to explain observations of weather patterns, seasonal changes, and the movements of the Earth's plate. Students explain how incoming solar radiations, ocean currents, and land masses affect weather and climate.

It is clear that such "performance indicators," "key ideas," and "learning standards" are still very generalized. As such, they are of little practical use for classroom teachers trying to decide day-to-day instruction or create tests geared to the "Standards." Therefore, another major effort by the NYSED has been to bring together K - 12 teachers, university professors, and other educational professionals to develop "Core Curriculum Guides." Over the next few years, such guides will be published for earth science, chemistry, and physics based on the "Physical Setting" guidelines, and for biology and related courses based on the "Living Environment" guidelines.

It will be in these Core Curriculum Guides that many of the details of what should be taught to meet the state and national standards will be spelled out. For example, the performance indicator above concerning using "concepts of density and heat energy to explain observations" is, in an April draft of the earth science guide, further expounded into sixteen statements. Examples of these are the following:

During the past summer, teams from across New York State met to revise the draft versions of these Core Curriculum Guides. After further extensive discussions and revisions over the next two to three years, the Guides will be issued by the NYSED, and become the basis for classroom instruction.

These Core Curriculum Guides will, when adopted, replace the existing syllabi and other documents that now determine what should be taught and tested. In earth science, there are currently two exams available to students at the end of the academic year. One is based on the "traditional" syllabus developed in 1970. The other is based on the "Program Modification" document developed by E.S.P.R.I.T. (Earth Science Program Resource Integration Team), a network of teachers, and first administered in 1993.

The "Pro-Mod" version includes nine core units: Dimensions of the Earth, Minerals and Rocks, The Dynamic Crust, Surface Processes and Landscapes, Earth History, The Atmosphere, Water Cycles and Climates, The Earth in Space, and Environmental Awareness. In addition, there are six optional topics which allow for extension: Rocks, Minerals and Resources; Earthquakes and the Earth's Interior; Oceanography, Glacial Geology, Atmospheric Energy, and Astronomy.

At present, the "traditional" exam is given in January, June, and August, and the "Pro-Mod" version only in June. Both exams include many questions for which answers should involve use of the "Earth Science Reference Tables." (Note: An on-line version of this and the software necessary to open the files are available from the NYSED web site -- www.nysed.gov. The sixteen pages of these tables include such information as basic formulas for density, astronomical data, P- and S-wave travel time curves, generalized bedrock and landscape maps, important events in Earth history, and many other earth science items about which interesting questions can be created.

The new "Core Curriculum" will probably include most of the topics included in the "Pro-Mod" version, but arranged through broad themes. For example, under the "Key Idea" that "The Earth and celestial phenomena can be described by principles of relative motion and perspective," students might study such diverse, yet related, concepts as daily rotation, yearly revolution, moon phases, eclipses, tides, planetary motions, coordinate systems, seasonal changes, gravitational forces, Doppler shift, plate tectonics, and the water cycle.

The NYSED is also engaged in revision of the assessment tests. The new version of the high school exam (based on the Learning Standards, Key Ideas, Performance Indicators, and Core Curriculum Guides) will be introduced over the next few years for field-testing and adoption. As part of that discussion, consideration is also being given to what should be included in the accompanying Reference Tables.

New exams are being created to measure accomplishment at the elementary and intermediate levels. There is still considerable uncertainty about when these exams will really be field-tested and then become required. It is also unclear at this time whether they must be passed in order for a student to move up in grades, or whether they are more of a benchmark indicator. But the NYSED will attempt to clarify such questions during the coming academic year.

For many schools, requiring passing at least one Regents exam has already resulted in locally-adopted new graduation requirements that demand this. Students can no longer take "non-Regents" science and graduate. Some schools are experimenting with instructional programs that extend over three- or four- semesters. For example, students may begin a study of some of the earth science topics required to pass the Regents exam in 8th grade. They study the other topics and review for the exam in 9th grade, taking the test in June. If they do not pass, they may be required to try again after summer school study. Or they may take a review class during the fall of 10th grade and try again in the January administration of the test. It is uncertain whether the new exam will also be available as frequently, given limited numbers of thoroughly-evaluated questions from which to draw up the exams.

One of the attractive features of the current Pro-Mod exam -- an independent research project that can earn up to 10 points (%) of the student's score -- will probably not be included in the new exam. There has been great consideration over "equity" issues involving such projects. Debate also rages among the NYSED and state teachers over credit for "nonscience" aspects of testing. One of these points involves demanding that certain answers be presented in complete sentence format. There has been considerable discussion about this point among classroom teachers through various Internet chat-groups.

One effect already seen by the shift to a "Regents-only" graduation requirement has been a significant increase in the number of students who failed the exam last June and were required to attend summer classes before taking the exam in August. This, together with an increase in the number of sections of earth science courses being offered in New York State schools, has created a demand for more classroom teachers. Many teachers who previously taught chemistry and physics are now being asked to handle such assignments, as enrollments in non-Regents classes in those subjects rapidly decreases.

As noted, the NYSED is beginning to implement its new assessments at the 4th and 8th grade levels. Many schools will be administering the first of these tests during the current or next school years. There is still considerable uncertainty about what these tests will cover, how they are to be used, and other critical factors.

Given the traditional relative lack of knowledge in science that many elementary school teachers bring to the classroom (compared with strengths in teaching language arts or mathematics), and few strong inquiry-oriented programs, anxiety levels are very high among public school teachers.

The traditional "exemption" from mandated testing enjoyed by many private and parochial schools is another source of anxiety. Given the increasingly political nature of support for charter schools and vouchers to provide "school choice," many public school educators are wondering whether the assessment process will include all students, or whether those not in public schools will be able to make claims of educational progress without the same obstacles placed in the way of public school teachers.

What is clear from all of this is that science education in New York State over the next few years will be quite different from what it has been. The changes necessitate considerable revision of pre- and in-service training programs. Staff development will be needed in all schools to acquaint teachers with the new Standards and curriculum guides, to develop new approaches to enable students from many different backgrounds and skill levels to master the higher demands, and to create the classroom settings and strategies necessary for success.

The NYSED has already recognized many of these problems and started to address them, beginning with a position paper, "Teaching to Higher Standards." (This is also available on-line at ) Many local, regional, and statewide conferences include workshops designed to provide educators and others with the most up-to-date information, as well as practical suggestions to enhance teacher competence and confidence.

For those of us personally involved, this is a stressful, yet exciting time to be a science teacher in New York State. For others looking to New York as an example of how "higher standards" can be implemented, much can be learned about what to do and what to avoid. In the long run, the final result should be students graduating from high school with raised levels of skill, knowledge, and scientific literacy.

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