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국제적 과학교육학술논문 요약과 외국 과학교육 및 국제화
[New York Times]Science Chief Says Schools in New York Are Failing
The official in charge of science education in New York City gave her own program a failing grade of 55 at a City Council committee hearing yesterday and said the state of science education in the city was "horrendous."
But she added that steps were being taken to turn things around.
Council members argued that in the city's push to improve teaching and test scores in literacy and math, science had become a second-tier subject that was poorly taught.
Julia Rankin, the Department of Education official in charge of science programs, largely agreed.
Dr. Rankin, who has led the science programs for a year, testified that the subject had not been a priority in the schools for many years, but added that recent efforts had been made to change "the whole thinking and philosophy around science."
"We have much work ahead of us, but I'm proud of what we've been able to accomplish in the past year," Dr. Rankin said, citing the building of science labs, more professional development for teachers, and progress toward a more comprehensive curriculum.
Dr. Rankin said she would give the science education program a grade of 55 after she was asked by a city council member, Robert Jackson of Manhattan, to rate performance on a 100-point scale.
Council members said that the school system suffered from a lack of qualified science teachers, laboratory space and classroom time to spend on science, and that the results were lackluster test scores in the low grades and high failure rates for high school students on the science Regents exams.
In addition, they said, the science curriculum is uneven and the department has very little knowledge of what actually happens in individual schools regarding science, a claim that education officials at the hearing did not dispute.
"Science education is the foundation of our global economy, yet it has been treated with second-class status for decades," said Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz, the chairwoman of the Council's Education Committee.
"Our programs are failing the kids," she added. "And I don't see the level of concern I think we should have, given the numbers."
Dr. Rankin told Ms. Moskowitz that the department had asked elementary school teachers to spend 150 minutes a week on science instruction, but she said she did not know how many schools did so.
Another department official, Elizabeth Arons, the chief executive of the human resources division, said the department could not say how many science teachers had master's degrees in subjects related to science.
Both officials said the schools would benefit from new data that the Department of Education collected about science education - information they have just begun to analyze.
Ms. Moskowitz often bristled at the answers given by the education officials, particularly since she had asked some of the same questions at a similar hearing on science education last year. The officials lacked the same data then.
"You have to know what you're starting with," Ms. Moskowitz said. "Four years into this administration and we don't know."
Dr. Rankin replied: "We need data, we don't doubt that at all. These are issues we're looking into right now."
By SUSAN SAULNY
Published: November 11, 2005
New York Times
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