Bay Area elementary school student achievement in science is poor and the quality of K-5 science education in the region is weak, according to a new research brief released today by the Center for Research, Evaluation and Assessment at the Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California, Berkeley.
Almost half (47 percent) of Bay Area school districts that responded to the study survey said they did not think students were likely to encounter high quality science instruction in their district’s elementary school classrooms.
“Too little time is spent teaching science in Bay Area public elementary schools, and many K-5 teachers lack adequate preparation and materials to teach the subject well,” said Rena Dorph, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Research, Evaluation, & Assessment at the Lawrence Hall of Science. “There are also too few opportunities for teachers to learn to teach science more effectively, and little in the way of support for quality science instruction.”
Based on a survey of elementary school teachers in nine counties of the Bay Area region, the research brief reports that eighty percent of K–5th grade multiple-subject teachers responsible for teaching science who responded to the survey said they spend sixty minutes or less teaching science each week. Sixteen percent said they spent no time at all.
Bay Area elementary teachers said they feel less prepared to teach science as compared to other subjects. At the same time, more than two-thirds (68 percent) of the respondents say they have fewer than six hours of professional development in science education over the last three years and more than a third (36 percent) say they have received none at all.
County Offices of Education also report they are able to offer little in the way of support for science education and more than half (52 percent) of the Bay Area school districts that responded to the survey indicated that they do not have the capacity in their district offices to support science instruction.
Meanwhile, as in much of California, student achievement in the Bay Area in science is weak. California ranks next to last in science on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. And the 2007 California State Standards Test results reveal that less than half (46 percent) of Bay Area fifth graders score at proficient levels or above in science.
“It’s very clear that science education in the Bay Area, as in much of California, has been left behind,” said Dr. Mark St. John, Interim Coordinator of an emerging consortium of organizations interested in improving science education in the Bay Area. “It’s particularly troubling that many of the schools labeled ‘program improvement’ that are struggling to meet the mathematics and literacy requirements of No Child Left Behind, are among those most likely to say they do not teach any science at all.
“The bottom line is that if we are going to hold students accountable for learning science, we are going to have to do a better job of supporting teachers,” added St. John.
The research brief makes clear there is potential for improvement of science education in the Bay Area. The California State Standards Test in science is increasing accountability pressure for improving student achievement in the subject. Also, 90 percent of school districts in the Bay Area say they are planning to select new science materials as part of the new state science curriculum adoption by June 2008. These developments offer both motivation and opportunity for many schools and school districts to develop and implement improvement strategies in science education. Many districts also report the availability of high quality support and resources for science education from science museums, universities and other external community sources.
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation provided funding for the research study. The S.D. Bechtel Foundation and the Stuart Foundation have provided additional support for dissemination of study findings. The study was commissioned by an emerging consortium of foundation, research, community and education organizations dedicated to the improvement of science education in the Bay Area.
The research brief on elementary science education is a project of the Center for Research, Evaluation and Assessment at the Lawrence Hall of Science in collaboration with WestEd. A summary of the key findings and recommendations of the research brief is attached.
The full research brief is available on the web here.
A short video summarizing the findings is available on YouTube here.