Schools
Virginia Science Programs Make the Grade
Virginia's Standards of Learning (SOL) for science earned one of the highest grades in the nation, according to the Thomas B. Fordham Institute in Washington, D.C.
Virginia's Standards of Learning (SOL) for science earned one of the highest grades in the nation, according to the Thomas B. Fordham Institute in Washington, D.C.
The Commonwealth earned a grade of A- based on a study by the institute that examined the rigor and content of 2010 SOL tests administered in the states.
Only three other states and the District of Columbia received an A or A-, according to the Fordham Institue.
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Those states are South Carolina, Indiana and California.
Many states earned D’s or F’s in the report and 75 percent received a grade of C or lower.
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“The content material in the Virginia standards is well written and well organized by a group of authors whose knowledge of science is clearly substantial,” Fordham Institute officials said.
Virginia Department of Education officials said the institute describes the supplemental Science SOL Curriculum Framework as, “beautifully written” and especially useful for beginning teachers.
In Virginia, Kindergarten through sixth grade science education is centered on seven key concepts: scientific investigation, reasoning and logic, force, motion and energy, matter, life processes, interrelationships in earth/space systems, earth patterns, cycles and change and earth resources.
These subjects are referred to collectively as STEM. As children get into middle and high school the sciences are presented as separate classes including, life science, biology and physics.
The Fordham Institute noted that while Virginia’s science standards are strong, “the life sciences are the best of the bunch.”
The institute’s reviewers further commented that, “the high school materials could likely be used for an Advanced Placement course but are certainly appropriate for the regular course offering, given the excellent background established in middle school.”
The Virginia Board of Education revised the state's science standard two years ago in an effort to provide students with a solid foundation in STEM studies, Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia I. Wright said.