Changes to Pennsylvania public schools are underway, with a panel of science and education experts volunteering their time and expertise to rewrite Pennsylvania’s science academic standards.
Changes to Pennsylvania public schools are underway, with a panel of science and education experts volunteering their time and expertise to rewrite Pennsylvania’s science academic standards. This task is not taken lightly, with experts meeting several times a week to review over 1,000 public comments from Pennsylvania residents. These standards are used to determine the curriculum and core concepts taught and tested within Pennsylvania’s schools. However, the science standards presently in use have not been updated for nearly 20 years, with the last update approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) in 2002.
The newly proposed standards were open to public comments this past summer 2021 and received a high number of comments challenging a lack of science education topics important to Pennsylvania, such as environmental education and agricultural sciences, in the proposed standards. Given these public comments, the State Board of Education charged the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) with reconvening the Steering and Content Committees to revisit the proposed standards and address the public comments ahead of a special meeting of the State Board of Education on December 1st. Even with this deadline quickly approaching, Tarrea Potter, Pennsylvania Education Outreach Coordinator for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and a member of the standards Content Committee, stated that while “up against pressing deadlines, we have an extremely dedicated group and I’m hopeful.” Potter noted that since this is a volunteer effort of selected experts, “the people brought together are dedicated to the process and are coming in with their own expectations and passions.” This can be a double-edged sword with volunteers dedicated to ensuring the standards are updated to present-day science education needs, but with varying opinions on what these needs entail.
When asked about the proposed standards open to public comment this summer, Michelle Niedermeier, Education Lead with the Pennsylvania Sea Grant College Program at Penn State University, noted the lack of standards regarding environmental sciences, integrated pest management, and agricultural sciences. These topics were part of the standards adopted in 2002. She emphasized that, “weakening environmental standards is a huge risk with the route we are currently on,” alluding to the lack of climate change and environmental science education in the proposed standards. With the rewrite due December 1st and the full State Board of Education meeting in January 2022 to discuss the updated science standards, changes to science education in Pennsylvania’s public schools are on the horizon.
Written by: Hannah S. Tiffin, hsg14@psu.edu
