Chapter 4: Analyzing the Coherence of Science Curriculum Materials

Science curricula in high-performing countries (such as Japan) are more coherent than those in low-performing countries (such as the United States). Thus, the United States and China both have adopted national science curriculum standards that emphasize coherence. The goal of this study was to test a process for assessing coherence of science curriculum materials. As hypothesized, the process devised found that poststandards programs in both countries obtained higher coherence scores than prestandards programs.