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Forensics Courses Becoming Classroom Fixture

Mary Hanson is a high school science teacher. She is also a reserve officer in her local police department. Student misbehavior, she likes to say, is rarely a problem in her class.

A more serious challenge for her and for teachers across the country is how to get students interested in the subject and help them make sense of important content. In recent years, she has found that one course in particular—forensic science—is well suited to that mission.

Over the past decade, forensic science has carved out a sizable niche in the science curriculum, not only in Ms. Hanson’s school but in districts nationwide. Once found almost exclusively on college campuses, increasingly sophisticated forensics lessons—typically focused on crime-solving techniques—have become entrenched in many high schools and even some middle schools as electives or sections...