SERA: Executive Summary: Introduction

Science Education Reform for All (SERA)

Executive Summary
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I. Introduction
Increased national attention to science, mathematics and technology (SMT) education reform, including special focus in the National Education Goals and initiatives of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and U.S. Department of Education has led to:

Significant increases in mathematics scores for 4th, 8th, and 12th grade students on the 1996 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), as compared to the 1990 NAEP (The National Education Goals Report, 1997).
More high school students of all races/ethnicities enrolling in and completing high school algebra, geometry, biology, and chemistry than in 1982 (Women, Minorities and Persons With Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 1996).
U.S. 4th graders being outperformed by only one country and the United States ranking slightly above the international average in 4th grade mathematics and 8th grade science. (TIMSS, 1997).
Much of this improvement is the result of state departments of education, school districts, and schools that reexamined and restructured their policies, curriculum, instructional strategies, assessments, teacher professional development, and parent and community involvement. However, many challenges remain if the positive results of the SMT reform are to be maintained and increased. Particularly troubling indicators are:

The widening gaps in mathematics and science performance between White and minority students (see Tables 1 and 2).
U.S. 8th grade students scoring below the international average in mathematics (TIMSS, 1997).
U.S. girls scoring significantly lower than U.S. boys on the TIMSS 4th grade science test (TIMSS, 1997).
The U.S. international standing declining in science and mathematics between Grades 4 and 8 (TIMSS, 1997).
U.S. 12th graders scoring below the international average and among the lowest of the 21 nations in both mathematics and science general knowledge (TIMSS, 1998).
The wide gaps in test scores between urban and non-urban school districts in 8th grade mathematics and science achievement on NAEP (Education Week, Quality Counts, 1998).

Table 1: Gaps in Science Performance between White and Minority Students

Table 2: Gaps in Mathematics Performance between White and Minority Students

We have no indicators about the science and mathematics performance of students with disabilities in grades 1-12. However, from Women, Minorities, and Persons With Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 1996, we do know the following about the 1992-1993 school year:

Of the 4.6 million children ages 6-21 with disabilities, over 50% had specific learning disabilities and over 20% had specific language impairments (see Table 32 in A Closer Look at SMT Special Education Programs and Resources on page 85). Students with speech and language impairments were more likely to be in the regular classroom (Table 33).
In 1993, while little more than 50% of the science or mathematics classes in grades 1-4 reported having children with learning disabilities, only 24% of the mathematics classes and 31% of the science classes in grades 9-12 reported having students with learning disabilities (Table 34).
In grades 1-12, students with physical disabilities were in 4% to 6% of science classes and 2% to 6% of the mathematics classes (Table 34).
In grades 1-12, students with mental disabilities were in 1% to 5% of the science classes and 2% to 9% of the mathematics classes (Table 34).
The 4% of college-bound high school seniors taking the 1994 SAT who reported having a disability scored lower than students who reported having no disabilities (Women, Minorities, and Persons With Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 1996, page xix).

Raising the SMT skills of all students, while closing the gaps for minority, female, and disabled students, is a particularly daunting challenge for SMT educational reformers. To gain a better understanding about the manner in which states, school districts, and schools are responding to these challenges, AAAS and CCSSO developed and implemented the Science Education Reform for All (SERA) Project. Over the last four years, this project team undertook planning sessions, reviewed plans and documents, and, conducted surveys and interviews with leaders in three state departments of education, 10 school districts, and three tribal schools (see Table 3). These three states -- Florida, Michigan, and South Dakota -- are former recipients of NSF Statewide Systemic Initiative funds.

Table 3: Participants in the SERA Project

The results of the first three years of this study were reported in Science Education Reform for All (SERA): A Look at How State Departments of Education Are Infusing Equity and Excellence into PreK-12 Systemic Reform (1996). Our second report includes updated profiles of the state departments of education as well as first-time profiles of the 10 districts and three tribal schools. As can be noted in the district profiles, they vary in size and type and enroll different mixes of minority, Limited English Proficient (LEP), low-income, or special education students. This report also includes:

Perspectives from SERA liaisons in each of the three SERA project states which summarize their coordination efforts to create science education reform for all students.
Commissioned papers from key education leaders and researchers. These papers focus on:
the use of federal education funds to advance fairness,
the use of Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA) funds for education reform,
scoring performance assessments of LEP students,
SMT education programs for special education students, and
characteristics of highly successful schools in poor communities.

In addition, we conducted literature searches to identify recent educational equity and SMT reports.

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