Not the Onion: Kentucky lawmakers shocked to find evolution in biology tests

[Blue_Tires]

A report surfaced this week that suggests Kentucky legislators may be experiencing a sort of cognitive dissonance that is likely to be a preview of things we can expect elsewhere. After dictating that schools in the state include tests based on national standards, the state lawmakers were shocked to find that evolution made a prominent appearance on the science tests. Considering that the same legislative body was considering undercutting evolution less than two years ago, this may have come as a bit of a surprise.

It really shouldn't have.

Nationally, the No Child Left Behind Act has dictated that there need to be standards for educational performance, and standardized tests will be used to make sure those standards are met. Although that push started with basics like math and language, national science standards were also called for. Many states have since implemented them: the Kentucky legislature apparently adopted the national standards in 2009. ACT, a company that creates and manages standardized testing, was contracted to handle the science tests.

Given that evolution is extremely well supported and provides the central organizing idea of biology, ACT's tests featured it heavily. That made a number of the state legislators rather unhappy, and gave them the chance to demonstrate that they should not be setting education policy.

"I would hope that creationism is presented as a theory in the classroom, in a science classroom, alongside evolution," the Lexington Herald-Leader quotes Senator David Givens as saying. Givens is apparently unaware that creationism is not a theory, and that the Supreme Court has ruled that teaching it is a violation of the establishment clause.
http://arstechnica.com/science/2012/08/kentucky-lawmakers-shocked-to-find-evolutoin-in-biology-tests/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+arstechnica%2Findex+%28Ars+Technica+-+All+content%29

[longship]

1. Apparently somebody needs to inform these guys about case law.

Creationism in all its various forms have never won in federal court. It is failure after failure. If they want to roll the dice once more it will get smacked down pretty damned quickly, at a cost to the state of Kentucky. I think that may be a good argument against going down that road once again.

Don't you think?

[Ichingcarpenter]

2. And America once again drops in Science scores worldwide.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SqhhJb_P3Kk/SYXHbrVJW4I/AAAAAAAAEus/W9OSIWgb-XY/s400/stork+theory+analogy+to+evolution.jpg

[yellowcanine]

3. Kentucky lawmakers slackjawed to find the Copernican Theory in standardized tests......

"That round earth idea has to go also." said state senator Bubba Dipshitz (R-Boonietown)

[cbdo2007]

4. They are getting Theory confused with theory

Evolution has been proven true and is a Theory.

Creationism is a theory that has not been proven true.

[GreenPartyVoter]

6. Yes, that is the crux of the matter. They don't understand scientific language.

[1-Old-Man]

8. Slight correction: Creationism is a theory for which no proof exists.

[NYC Liberal]

10. Evolution is a fact. Natural selection is the theory, and is an explanation for

the method by which evolution occurs.

Evolution = fact.
How evolution happens = (scientific) theory.

[alcibiades_mystery]

5. Jeez

"I would hope that creationism is presented as a theory in the classroom, in a science classroom, alongside evolution,"

Is this guy fucking dense? Not only is it completely against the law to teach creationism in a science class, since Kitzmiller v. Dover (Area School District), it is similarly a violation to teach their stupid "intelligent design," since the (Dubya Bush appointed) judge found it to be essentially creationism in disguise. "I would hope"??? This guy doesn't even know the basic established law surrounding these issues and he's front and center talking science education policy as a state legislator? We're really through the rabbit hole with these fucknuts.

[iemitsu]

9. plus, this legislator hopes that schools provide

alternative models so students can choose which "theory" will inform their understanding of scientific reality.
i hope he is happy when the test scores indicate that the intelligent design schools are failing.

[alcibiades_mystery]

11. There are no public 'intelligent design" schools since Kitzmiller

Maybe private charters.

[awoke_in_2003]

7. Mike Judge was wrong...

"Idiocracy" won't take 500 years to achieve- it is not that far off. The dumb bastards reproduce a hell of a lot faster.