Chapter 10: How State And Federal Policy Affects What Is Taught In Science Classes

Who determines what will be taught in science classes in American schools? We know that teachers have choice in what they teach, but how far does that freedom extend? What policies, if any, whether formal or informal, constrain and limit the choices that teachers can make? In this chapter, I describe the influence of state and federal legislative bodies, the judiciary, professional societies devoted to science and science education, as well as individual scientists and science educators on the content of the science curriculum.

At the broadest level, the content of the science curriculum in U.S. schools is determined by state policies regarding the number and type of courses that are needed for graduation. Currently, the average number of years of science required for a regular high school diploma in the United States is just under 3 years, although states have been continually increasing that requirement, especially during the past 20 years (Education Commission of the States, 2007; see also Lynch, Chapter 11, this volume). Typically, a state will require all students to take at least one course in life science and one course in physical science to graduate. Actual enrollments, of course, are greater than minimum requirements because many students take more courses than are required. (For a discussion of trends in high school science enrollment during the first half of the twentieth century, see DeBoer, 1991.) At a more specific level, the content of the school science curriculum is described in state syllabi, curriculum frameworks, and standards documents written and approved by each state education department and typically approved by the state legislature. Under current federal law, the teaching of science content is enforced by means of a comprehensive state test or a series of end-of-course exams written at the state level (see Bybee, Chapter 8, this volume). In some cases, passing these tests is required for graduation, and in other cases, the test results are used to identify schools that need improvement, but they are not used as a requirement for student graduation.