Science Standards Have Yet To Seep Into Class, Panel Says

By David J. Hoff

Washington

The national science education standards have been the basis for state curriculum decisions, textbook publishers' new materials, and school districts' choices for professional development, says a panel of researchers.

But the voluntary guidelines haven't yet had a significant impact in the most important place: science classrooms.

"We saw little change since the introduction of the standards in how [science] is being taught," said P. Sean Smith, a senior research associate at Horizon Research Inc., a Chapel Hill, N.C.-based company that conducted the study for...