Monthly Archives: December 2013

From this morning’s Tallahassee Democrat: The state’s middle school students are struggling in math. And in a 21st century economy that relies heavily on innovation in science and technology and in which our kids will be in a desperate competition … Continue reading →

Florida has pushed hard to get more students involved the Advanced Placement program, and the state’s education leaders have bragged about their success in this. And the state has made a conscious decision to emphasize biology over other sciences in … Continue reading →

If you are a first-year student at my university who shows up to major in engineering, math or physics and you don’t already have credit for the first calculus course – via the first Advanced Placement calculus course or by … Continue reading →

I hear this from parents way too often:  I don’t want my children to be pushed too hard in the classroom.  I don’t want them to be upset by their schoolwork.  If I (the parent) have difficulty with the homework … Continue reading →

Florida may be near the top of the nation in the percentage of high school students earning Advanced Placement credit, but on AP exams that prepare students for science and engineering careers, the state is only average. Florida placed 19th … Continue reading →

The American Institute of Physics reports that physics majors fell a place in the ranking of how well different college majors perform on the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT), from 1st to 2nd.  The major that nosed ahead?  Math, of … Continue reading →

The Lakeland Ledger’s Gary White has published a two-part series contrasting Florida’s public push for more STEM careers with the public resistance to the teaching of evolution, climate change and cosmology. Here is part one from the Sunday edition, and here is … Continue reading →

The results of the 2013 NAEP Trial Urban District Assessment released yesterday (and discussed on redefinEDonline.org) show at a glance that two of Florida’s behemoth urban districts – Hillsborough and Miami-Dade – do very well in comparison with other urban districts … Continue reading →

In October, 132 Catholic scholars led by Notre Dame law professor Gerard Bradley sent a letter to the American bishops urging them not to adopt the Common Core for their diocesan schools.  This is my response.  If you are interested … Continue reading →

Florida Governor Rick Scott has proclaimed January 4-11, 2014 as Physics Education Week in the state.  The week is being proclaimed in conjunction with the Winter Meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers in Orlando the same week. The … Continue reading →