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Council of Chief State School Officers Releases State Indicators of Science and Mathematics Education 2003 The 2003 study marks the seventh report since 1991 in a series of biennial reports on state and national indicators that include student achievement in math and science, trends in math and science course enrollments, and indicators of teacher quality. Listed below are key highlights from the report. According to the CCSSO and recent research, higher-level course taking is a key measure for monitoring the condition of K-12 science and math education. With that in mind, some promising indicators exist for science education. The number of students taking advanced science courses is up. Eight percent of 12th-grade students took advanced science exams in 2002, up from five percent in 1994. Of students who took the Advanced Placement science exams, 28 percent were minority students, and 46 percent were female. The number of graduates taking higher-level science courses is up. In 2002, 59 percent of high school graduates nationwide took chemistry, up 14 percent from 1990. Twenty-five percent took physics, up 5 percent from 1990; and 94 percent took biology, down 1 percent from 1990. In 2002, 31 percent of all students in grades 9-12 took chemistry, physics, or advanced science, up 10 percent from 1990. 90 percent of all students in grades 9-12 took a science course of any level in 2002. When indicators of race and ethnicity are examined, results show that the percentage of students taking chemistry rose from 1982 to 1998. Only 35 percent of white students took chemistry in 1982, compared with 63 percent in 1998. Among African American students, the percentage rises from 23 percent in 1982 to 53 percent in 1998. Just 17 percent of Hispanic students took chemistry in 1982, compared with 44 percent in 1998. Asian students experienced nearly a 20 percent increase (from 52 percent to 74 percent), while the number of American Indian students who took chemistry rose from 34 percent in 1982 to 47 percent in 1998. As of 2002, 21 states required students to take three credits of science, and four states required four credits. General science was the course most often taken at the middle level. Nationwide in 2002, 40 percent of students in grades 7-8 took general science (up 14 percent from 1990); 19 percent took life science (down 14 percent from 1990); 11 percent took earth science (down 4 percent from 1990); 13 percent took physical science (up 5 percent from 1990); and 27 percent studied integrated or coordinated science. Indicators of Teacher Quality Recent research shows a strong positive correlation between the amount of teacher course preparation in math and science and the level of student achievement in these subjects. The report goes on to “recognize the need for teachers with in-depth knowledge and understanding of their assigned fields and skills in effective instruction methods for math and science at their assigned grade levels.” Yet the report indicates the number of certified science teachers has actually dropped in most states. The percentage of subject-certified high school science teachers nationwide dropped from 1994 to 2002. Although certification rates varied, and data from 20 states show that 90 percent of their teachers were certified in the subjects they teach, CCSSO estimates that in 2002, 83 percent of biology teachers nationwide were certified, down 7 percent from 1994; 82 percent of chemistry teachers were certified, down 10 percent; 75 percent of physics teachers are certified, down 11 percent, and 72 percent of earth science teachers were certified, down 9 percent. Midwestern states had higher numbers of certified teachers than did other regions, and states with large enrollment growth, such as California and Texas, have lower numbers of certified teachers. The number of certified middle level teachers is down. Only 58 percent of teachers of science in grades 7-8 were certified in science, down five percent from 1992. Twenty-one percent of middle level teachers held elementary certification, and 21 percent were not certified. “Many states find that trends on the certification of middle grades science and math teachers represent a key indicator of gauging teacher preparation and supply,” says the report. “Middle school is often the point where students develop strong interests and aspirations in science and math, or where interests fall off, and well-prepared teachers are likely to be the key to building interest in these subjects. In addition, middle school is often the point where states, districts, and schools find it difficult to fill positions with well-qualified science and math teachers, thus making the statistical trend analysis a critical resource. It is important to differentiate between teachers with elementary certification and teachers certified in the specific subjects at the middle grades level of teaching. NCLB now requires that middle grades teachers be highly qualified in their assigned subjects of teaching.” The percentage of minority teachers of science rose only slightly from 1990 to 2002. The number of minority teachers of biology rose from 10 percent in 1990 to 12 percent in 2002. For chemistry, the numbers jumped by 7 to 11 percent, and the number of minority teachers of physics climbed from 5 to 7 percent over the 12-year period. The percentage of female teachers of high school science increased from 1990 to 2002. The percentage of female biology teachers climbed from 37 percent in 1990 to 52 percent in 2002. In chemistry, the percentage of female teachers rose from 34 percent to 47 percent, while the percentage of female physics teachers rose from 22 to 28 percent from 1990 to 2002. The science and math teacher population is aging. Nearly one-third of math and science teachers were older than age 50 in 2002. States in the Northeast and Midwest have an older teacher population than do other regions. In eight states, 36 percent or more of the teachers were older than age 50. Only 7 percent of the science teachers in 2002 were new first-year teachers. In math, the study shows that
For more detailed state statistics on these and other indicators, including the math indicators, go to State Indicators of Science and Mathematics Education 2003 online at http://www.ccsso.org/Projects (click on Science and Math Education Indicators). |