State of School Science A Review of the Teaching of Mathematics, Science and Social Studies in American Schools, and Recommendations for Improvements. (1979) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
The Curriculum in Secondary Schools
The Curriculum in Secondary Schools
Pages 15-28
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From page 15... ...
Less than half of the districts require specific courses in math or science. When specified, such science course requirements typically include general science, biology, or physical science; specific math course requirements are typically general mathematics or elementary algebra (Weiss, 1978, p.
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From page 16... ...
In the case of social studies, numerous elective courses together account for as many classes as American history and world history, which together account for 37 percent of the 10-12 social studies classes. Data collected by the NSF statistical survey do not lend themselves to calculations of the percentage of high school students who take a specific course prior to graduation.
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From page 17... ...
TABLE 5 Most Commonly Offered Science, Mathematics, and Social Studies Courses Grades 7-9 Grades 10-12 Course % of Classes Course % of Classes Science General Science 30 Biology 40 Earth Science 25 Chemistry 19 Life Science 16 Physics 15 Physical Science Biology Other Courses 15 6 8 Advanced Biology (2d year) 5 Mathematics Other Courses 21 General Mathematics 64 Algebra 38 Algebra 23 Geometry 30 Remedial Mathematics Other Courses 4 9 Advanced Mathematics and Calculus 7 Consumer/Business Mathematics 6 General Mathematics 5 Social Studies Other Courses 14 American History 34 American History 27 Social Studies 18 World History 10 State History 7 Psychology 7 Civics World Geography Other Courses 6 6 American Culture/ Contemporary Issues 7 29 United States Government 6 Economics 5 Other Courses 38 Source: Weiss, 1978, pp.
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From page 18... ...
They are not in good agreement with what one would intimate from Table 7, and the students polled were not a nationally representative sample. Nevertheless, unless course enrollment patterns change radically, it would appear that these six courses represent the most appropriate targets for future high school curriculum development efforts aimed at improving general public literacy in science, mathematics and social studies.
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From page 19... ...
The peak in the growth of the student population in grades 7, 8,9 occurred in 1972-73. The authors of the NSF science education literature review assert that the subsequent decline in total enrollment has affected the number of junior high school students taking science, but that the percentage has remained about constant since 1973 (Helgeson et al., 1977, p.
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From page 20... ...
. TABLE 7 Total Enrollment in Grades 7-12 1961 1973 Percent Increase 11,700,000 18,500,000 59% Number of Public School Students in Grades 9-12 Enrolled in Specific Science Courses in Selected Years Course 1961 1973 Percent Change General Science 1,826,087 1,096,020 -40% Biology 1,776,306 2,868,352 +61% Physiology 65,953 109,588 +66% Earth Science 76,564 558,654 +630% Chemistry 744,820 1,028,591 +38% Physics 402,317 583,105 +45% Source: National Center for Educational Statistics, 1976, p.
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From page 21... ...
The 1972-73 NCES survey data revealed that almost as many students were taking a second course in algebra or algebra/trigonometry as were taking elementary algebra and that over 260,000 high school students were studying calculus or other advanced-level mathematics courses, four times the 1960 figure. The 1972-73 NCES survey thus indicated that changes had occurred in the mathematics curriculum for a targeted but narrow sample of secondary mathematics students; changes for students who were not as interested in mathematics were less pronounced (NACOME, 1975, p.
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From page 22... ...
The enrollment decreases in some courses were apparently redirected to new social studies offerings, particularly elective courses in the social sciences such as psychology and sociology (Wiley and Race, 1977, pp.
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From page 23... ...
Again, as was the case at the elementary level, the figures for mathematics may be misleading, since most federally-funded mathematics materials were developed with the intention of incorporating the innovations into commerciallydeveloped text books. It is unfortunate that neither the NSF statistical survey nor the NSF case studies made an attempt to assess the impact of any specific innovations of the secondary level mathematics curriculum development projects.
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From page 24... ...
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From page 25... ...
83. The data collected by the NSF statistical survey indicate that a number of the federally-funded materials were used more extensively by teachers in previous years than in 1976-77, particularly SMSG for K-12 mathematics; PSSC physics, CHEM Study chemistry, and several of the BSCS program materials in 7-12 science; and Our Working World in K-6 social studies.
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From page 26... ...
28) report that in 1974 about 50 percent of the high school students studying chemistry were using this text.
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From page 28... ...
However, the above data indicate that a substantial number of teachers do continue to use the inquiry-based curriculum materials developed with federal support, although they usually constitute a minority. Of greater concern is the rate at which this usage is decreasing, especially considering the absence of an effective mechanism to familiarize new teachers with the content and approach of the NSF courses.
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