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ERIC Number: ED447099
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 2000-Sep
Pages: 66
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Good Science, Bad Science: Teaching Evolution in the States.
Lerner, Lawrence S.
This report discusses evolution in science education, evaluating the state-by-state treatment of evolution in science standards. It explains the role of evolution as an organizing principle for all the historical sciences. Seven sections include: "Introduction" (the key role of evolution in the sciences); "How Do Good Standards Treat Biological Evolution?" (controversial versus consensual knowledge and why students should learn about evolution); "Extrascientific Issues" (e.g., the diversity of anti-evolutionists, why anti-evolutionism persists, and how science standards reflect creationist pressures); "Evaluation of State Standards" (very good to excellent, good, satisfactory, unsatisfactory, useless or absent, and disgraceful); "Sample Standards"; "Further Analysis" (grades for science standards as a whole); and "Conclusions." Overall, 31 states do at least a satisfactory job of handling the central organizing principle of the historical sciences, 10 states do an excellent or very good job of presenting evolution, and 21 states do a good or satisfactory job. More than one-third of states do not do a satisfactory job. Appended are: two treatment models of evolution: excerpts from California and North Carolina science standards; evolution and its discontents; state documents examined; and ratings of state science standards overall. An annotated bibliography is included. (SM)
Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, 1627 K Street, N.W., Suite 600, Washington, DC 20006; Tel: 202-223-5452 or 888-TBF-7474 (toll-free); Fax: 202-223-9226; Web site: http://www.edexcellence.net.
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, Washington, DC.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A