Color me NOT surprised:American students do poorly in science, report says

[TZ]

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26, 2011 (Reuters) — American students scored poorly on a national test of science proficiency, a new report said, suggesting a tough road ahead for President Barack Obama's goal of educating a workforce to compete in the global economy.

The results of the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress, or the Nation's Report Card, showed that only 21 percent of high school seniors were performing at or above the proficient level in science.

About a third of fourth and eighth graders were found to perform at the same level.

The results released today show that our nation's students aren't learning at a rate that will maintain America's role as an international leader in the sciences," Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a statement.
http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre70o6dl-us-education-science/
And as most of us observe daily, adult comprehension of science is really bad in this country as well.:(

[laconicsax]

1. Who'd a thunk it?

-Elemental mercury and methylmercury are identical to ethylmercury.
-The dose NEVER makes the poison.
-Diluting it makes it stronger.
-Sodium chloride contains neither sodium nor chlorine.
-Water is magic, therefore drowning is a myth.
-If P, then Q. Not Q, therefore P.
-The plural of anecdote is data.

I feel like I've read these recently...

[TZ]

2. LOL.

You know, thats a list of things I've learned since I found DU, and probably one that Skinner wouldn't want advertised. I seriously had never heard these things before posting here (that and circumcisions are evil, cause I'm Jewish and thats just life). Yeah, I've been sheltered by being around science-y/logic types most of my life...:crazy:

[lizerdbits]

3. It seems to me

(generalization based on personal experience) that people who don't have an educational background in science believe just about anything that sounds sciency. I overheard a PT at the gym tell a client that she shouldn't drink diet soda because aspartame is metabolized to formaldehyde which is toxic. It shouldn't be that way and obviously artists, truck drivers, etc are mentally capable of critical thinking without getting a degree in science. But if they start teaching critical thinking skills to young people then we can't run political campaigns almost entirely based on slogans that will fit on bumper stickers. Who want that? Oh, wait we probably all do.

[Codeine]

4. The aspartame thing is repeated endlessly on DU. nt

[lazarus]

7. I used to think I'm allergic to aspartame

I get vicious migraines if I have even a sip of Diet Coke or something like that. Then I noticed that aspartame is in Fresca, and it doesn't affect me.

What isn't in Fresca is Nutrasweet. So I figure it's some fillers or something to make it Nutrasweet, and not just aspartame, that cause the migraines.

[mr blur]

5. And there's this: "13 percent of biology teachers back creationism"

The majority of high school biology teachers don't take a solid stance on evolution with their students, mostly to avoid conflicts, and fewer than 30 percent of teachers take an adamant pro-evolutionary stance on the topic, a new study finds. Also, 13 percent of these teachers advocate creationism in their classrooms.

<snip>

The data was collected from 926 nationally representative participants in the National Survey of High School Biology Teachers, which polled them on what they taught in the classroom and how much time they spent on each subject. They also noted the teachers' personal feelings on creationism and evolution.

Only 28 percent of high school biology teachers followed the National Research Council and National Academy of Sciences recommendations on teaching evolution, which include citing evidence that evolution occurred and teaching evolution thematically, as a link between various biology topics.

"We say (evolution is) a central idea in biology, but someone can get a biology degree and not take a class in it," Randy Moore, a science and evolution education specialist in the biology department at the University of Minnesota who was not involved in the study, told LiveScience. "We let that go in the name of religious freedom."

<snip>

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41313808/ns/technology_and_science-science

[TZ]

6. Yeah I saw this

This is because a biology teacher takes 2 maybe 3 science courses in college. Its no where near what a science major does. While its important to learn HOW to teach, the education system in this country seems to focus on nuts n bolts rather than actuall information transfer.

[Deep13]

8. You mean "god did it!" isn't the answer to every question?

How can that be?

[varkam]

9. I guess that's probably not too surprising, since the science classroom...

has become an ideological battleground instead of a place where the scientific method is taught without any sort of agenda.

[BlueJazz]

10. I believe why so many people in this country are afraid/cautious about science..

...is the prospect of Facts tearing down their illogical thoughts on nearly everything.