Florida K-12 Chancellor Haithcock: Go slow on science

The PreK-12 Policy Committee of the Florida House met this morning to discuss the FDOE end-of-course testing program.  Two FDOE officials, K-12 Chancellor Frances Haithcock and Kris Ellington, Assistant Deputy Commissioner for Accountability, Research and Measurement, spoke.  The news for science was bad.

Both officials emphasized that the FDOE plan is to replace the 11^th grade Science FCAT with a biology end-of-course test.  There is no concrete plan to implement tests in chemistry, Earth/space science or physics.  Chancellor Haithcock clearly opposes the timely development of end-of-course exams in these subjects.  She talked vaguely about phasing in sciences other than biology in the distant future.

The committee is planning to produce a bill on assessment and graduation that will preempt HB 61, which was filed by Representative Fresen in August.  HB 61 proposed that the graduation requirements in science be set at three courses, with one biology and another a physical science class (with chemistry and physics being acceptable).

None of the committee members expressed any concern about the science situation during today’s meeting.

House PreK-12 Policy Committee meeting today – meeting packet has same old depressing news

Today’s House PreK-12 Policy Committee meeting starts this morning at 10:00 am, and the materials for the meeting have just been posted at the myfloridahouse.gov web site.  They seem to rehash the same old depressing news:

The only end-of-course test in science planned through 2014 is biology.

Our neighboring states – Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi – all require four science courses for high school graduation.  We require three – and that’s all we require from our Bright Futures students as well.

Florida Race to the Top News Sampler

Today was the deadline for the states’ Race to the Top proposals.  With such a high-stakes effort, you knew that there would be some, uh, interesting angles.  So here is a Florida Race to the Top News Sampler:

• “Race to Top: Will union objections hurt Fl’s chances for grant money?” (Leslie Postal at the Orlando Sentinel blog School Zone talks about how the very visible opposition of the Florida Education Association might affect the refereeing of Florida’s proposal.)

• “Are consultants big winners in Race to the Top?”  (Dave Weber at School Zone reports that if Florida’s $1,141,622,870 proposal is fully funded, a huge amount will go to consultants.)

• “Race to the Top and Seminole County (and one determined superintendent, it seems)”  (Dave Weber reports that while Seminole County was allowed to reverse its original school board vote and join the state’s RTTT effort after the January 12 deadline, other school districts were not given the same opportunity.)

• “In Race to the Top, not everything is equal for Florida school districts”  (Jeff Solochek at the St. Petersburg Times blog Gradebook reports that Seminole County was not the only school district that received special treatment.  Broward County did, too, but turned down the opportunity to change its mind and join the proposal.)

• “Education Grant Effort Faces Late Opposition”  (The New York Times singles out Florida – along with Michigan and Minnesota – as states where the state level teachers’ unions mounted visible opposition to the Race to the Top proposals.)

Florida Citizens for Science Annual Meeting in Tampa this weekend

The science advocacy organization Florida Citizens for Science is holding its annual general membership meeting this Saturday, January 23, from 1:30-4:00 pm on the campus of the University of South Florida.  The meeting will be held in room 3700 of the Marshall Student Center.  The election of board members will begin half an hour earlier than the general meeting, at 1:00 pm.

I am giving a talk titled “A Legislative Program for Science Education in Florida” during the meeting.  I’m looking forward to talking with some folks with whom I’m corresponded but never met face-to-face, as well as some that I haven’t seen since the February 2008 State Board of Education meeting where several of us spoke in support of evolution education.

More end-of-course tests on the way: House PreK-12 Policy Chair Legg

Florida House PreK-12 Committee Chair John Legg told Jeff Solochek at the St. Petersburg Times blog Gradebook last week that the initiation of twelve end-of-course tests will be included in a bill that will be filed for this spring’s legislative session.  The list of new EOC tests will include one in high school science (biology), but may include other science subjects as well.  The issue of testing will be discussed in the committee’s next meeting, which will take place this Wednesday at 10:00 am.

Legg told Solochek that EOC tests in only three of the subjects (algebra, biology, geometry) will carry the label “high-stakes” in the bill.  The others will be labeled “non-high-stakes.”  Schools would be required to use the “non-high-stakes” tests to account for 30% of students’ grades in the corresponding courses.  Among the subjects covered by the “non-high-stakes” tests will be middle school civics and U.S. History, but Legg did not name any other subjects that would be included.

The “Gang of 90” white paper assembled by 90 science professors from colleges and universities around Florida last summer called for EOC tests in biology, chemistry, Earth/space science and physics.  A group of 106 professors signed a letter to the Governor last spring striking back against a legislative proposal to replace the 11^th grade Science FCAT, a comprehensive test, with a single EOC test in biology.  The proposal passed the House but made no progress in the Senate.

Business keeps bringing up education – and especially science and math education

Business-supported advocacy groups talked a lot this week about supporting education – and particularly science and math education.

On Wednesday, the Florida Council of 100 released a lengthy report on education reform and held a high-profile press conference featuring the present and former governors (Crist and Bush).  The report emphasized the importance of improving the education of scientists and engineers.

Florida TaxWatch also issued a report on Wednesday, “Recommendations for Boosting Investment, Economic Growth, and Job Creation in Florida,” that listed investment in science and math education as an important step for improving the state’s economy.  The report said,

Research indicates Florida trails the national norms in its concentration of knowledge workers. Additional investments in the STEM fields should spur cluster development, higher paying jobs and a more robust economy.

And the Miami Herald reports that at yesterday’s Florida Jobs Summit, keynote speaker economist Tony Villamil emphasized the importance of investing in education.  “There is no other way to improve the long-term future of Florida,” he said.

Governor, Commissioner sign and submit Race to the Top application, sending FEA a message to take a flying leap

Governor Crist signed Florida’s Race to the Top application this morning at an Orlando elementary school.  By sending the application to Washington a few days early (the deadline isn’t until Tuesday, January 19), Crist and Commissioner Smith not only turn back the request of the Florida Education Association to delay submitting an application until round 2 of the RTTT competition this summer, but also send FEA President Andy Ford a message to take a flying leap.

The final application requests $1.1 billion, although the state has been told it almost certainly will not receive more than $700 million.

Science of the Winter Olympic Games

NBC has produced a series of videos on the science of the Winter Olympic Games.  The videos are really cool.

Why should high school students learn Earth science? This is an interesting week to ask…

If you’re still looking for reasons why high school students should learn Earth science, this week offers yet another good one.  The New York Times opinion section today offers this update on earthquake prediction science.

NSTA Executive Director disappointed with lack of STEM emphasis in Race to the Top scoring

National Science Teacher Association Executive Director Francis Eberle expressed disappointment that STEM education wasn’t given more value in the Race to the Top rubric in a post on the Education Week blog Curriculum Matters.  STEM accounts for only 3% of the Race to the Top scoring.  Eberle was quoted saying “we would have really appreciated a much higher percentage.”

The blog also said that Eberle praised the personal attention that President Obama has paid to STEM education via the Education to Innovate initiative, which has gathered about half a billion dollars in private donations to be distributed over the next ten years.  Education Week has reported previously that the federal government spends more than $3 billion per year on STEM education efforts, although the effectiveness of these programs is in doubt.