Wisconsin Scores "F" on State Science Standards (Redux)

In my Dec 12, 2005 entry, I described the 2005 Fordham Institute report giving Wisconsin an "F" on its State Science Standards. As I mentioned, then, having a quality state standard is not synonomous with quality implementation. The Fordham report also included comments by the evaluators, disparaging the pedagogical approaches taken by schools.

To make the issue of Standards vs. Implementation more concrete, here is a year 2000 report by Dr. Gerald Bracey comparing Fordham's prior report with the NAEP and other tests.

His analysis showed that the states scoring highest in the Fordham study ranked at the low end of the scale on NAEP and the international TIMSS study, while the states that the Fordham study ranked "irresponsible" occupied 7 of the top 10 on NAEP-TIMSS.

I briefly reviewed the latest published NAEP Science report (2000) for a similar comparison. The Fordham "A" states of California, New Mexico, and South Carolina scored significantly below the National average; the "A" states of Indiana and New York scored average; and only the "A" states of Massachusetts and Vermont scored as above average. (Wisconsin was not included in the report).

So, now I ask, as I asked and suggested in a previous comment, where is the data and reliable information to make informed decisions? or even to have an informed opinion?

Posted by Larry Winkler at January 8, 2006 8:39 PM
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