EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE EDUCATION STANDARDS OF THE NORTHEASTERN STATES: SUMMARIES, TRENDS AND INTERNET DISSEMINATION

The latest reform of science education resulted in the “Benchmarks for Science Literacy” (Project 2061 of the AAAS, 1993) and the “National Science Education Standards” (NRC, 1996). Earth and Space Science content is a significant component of both of these proposed standards. The standards are what students are expected to know and be able to do at specific grade levels for every American. However, K-12 education is managed at the state level. Therefore, the national science standards are voluntary, but the state science standards are mandates. The state standards are being used to generate assessment tools to measure student achievement (usually standardized testing), the results of which are commonly published as a means for measuring success of school districts and individual schools. We have reviewed summaries of the Earth and Space produced from the state science standards from each state department of education within the northeastern region of the GSA. Copies of the summaries from all 50 states were distributed and feedback incorporated to modify the summaries at both the 2000 and 2001 national meeting of the GSA. The summaries of these standards are being transferred into HTML to be made available online in the near future. Most states appear to have used either the Benchmarks or the National Science Education Standards as their template (as evidenced by the grade level and the content subdivision organizations). However, most states also include Earth Science topics unique to their states. Pennsylvania standards 3.5.12.B. “Analyze the availability, location and extraction of earth resources”, recognizes the role of coal to the commonwealth. New Hampshire requires students by 6th grade to understand the “geologic processes shaping the NH landscape". Connecticut by grade 12 requires students to “analyze the cost, consequences and benefits of natural resource exploration, development and consumption". Delaware by grade 12 asks students to know that “subsurface water is a limited resource that must be managed".