The Worrying State of Science Education

While American students do better in science than they do in math on international comparisons, over time, science scores have not improved, while math scores have risen, and other countries have caught up. In a 2007 test of eighth graders, the U.S. students placed just tenth, behind countries like Japan, England and Russia. That worries experts because of how it can impact everything from the U.S. supply of engineers and researchers to the ability of everyday people to make decisions on things like vaccinations or conserving energy.

teaching kids about climate change

OPINION: How to get girls into science

Dissecting everyday life — including the fish at the dinner table — to close the gender gap in STEM

Are science lecture classes sexist?

Researchers find women suffer bigger "grade penalties" than men in large science lecture classes

Cries about national teacher shortages might be overblown

Some places have shortages of teachers, others have surpluses

The biggest hole in the STEM pipeline starts before kindergarten

Kindergartners' knowledge predicts science achievement through 8th grade

The evolution of teaching evolution

Ask any high school biology instructor: Teaching kids about evolution is a science. Students’ reactions to the theory of how life evolved on earth are as diverse as the…

How can we reform science education?

Ask a scientist in their mid 50s or older where they were in 1961 when President John F. Kennedy spoke to Congress about the urgency of sending a man to…

Why are other countries doing better in science than the U.S.?

Students in the United States generally start to learn about the human eye in elementary school. Students in many other countries, though, don’t discuss the eye until eighth grade. At…


Hi. Thanks to your support, we provide the best education coverage in the country.


The future of U.S. science education

The state of science education in the United States may seem grim, but some in the field are optimistic that science may actually be poised to enter a new golden…

Timeline: Important dates in U.S. science education history

    1956 The College Board introduces college-level science courses for advanced high-school students: AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Physics B/C (which become AP Physics B and AP…

What makes a good science teacher?

Janice Crowley (Courtesy College Board) What are the essential ingredients of good science teaching? Janice Crowley, chair of the science department at Wichita Collegiate School…