Environmental Science Standards

“Americans are confronted increasingly with questions in their lives that require scientific information and scientific ways of thinking for informed decision making. And the collective judgment of our people will determine how we manage shared resources--such as air, water, and national forests.” National Science Education Standards of the National Academies

Under the federal “No Child Left Behind” education reform legislation, all 50 states are required to set science standards by 2005, and national testing (as is already being done in reading and math) will commence in 2007. The implications for environmental science education are significant, as there are some constituencies who would teach science without ecology, environmental science, or natural history.  The field of science education is crowded with many disciplines advancing their areas of expertise. Although the current national science standards set forth by the National Academies contain many references to environmental sciences, there is no certainty that these topics will be incorporated into already crowded state curricula, much less make their way into the individual states’ proficiency tests.

 Because, in the United States, K-12 science and math curricula include more topics in each grade level than other countries (TIMMS Study, 1996) it is not enough to rely on the Federal agencies and mandates to represent the teaching interests of ecology, natural history and environmental science.  We believe that an external, collaborative effort is needed to insure the inclusion of the environmental sciences in K-12 curricula and assessment tools throughout the country. Such an initiative would offer unified support to state and federal efforts at standard setting, and provide resources for information and expertise in natural history, ecology and environmental science.

The need to advocate for a strong commitment to teaching natural history, ecology, environmental science, and hands-on science education, has never been stronger. These fields provide the scientific tools for environmental protection, policy development and stewardship for decades to come. F2E2’s goal is to insure that standards for the environmental sciences, as well as hand-on, inquiry based methods, are embedded in the implementation of the federal “No Child Left Behind” Act implementation. To do this, environmental education concepts must be brought into the current dialogue on federal standards for teaching science. F2E2 has begun exploring how to ensure appropriate science education policy development.

As the late Stephen Jay Gould observed,   “You have to get kids early. We ought to re-orient science education so that biology is central. Natural history deserves a major place, if not pride of place. Its distinctive narrative style would be valued – taxonomy and integrative, holistic, historical thinking are important. As long as environmental science and natural history are of secondary importance, the environment is not going to have the priority it needs.”

Resources in Environmental Science Standards 

Pennsylvania Department of Education, "Academic Standards for Environment and Ecology", January 2002. These standards establish the essential elements of what students (in Pennsylvania) are expected to know and be able to do at the end of grades four, seven, ten, and twelve.

National Science Education Standards, National Academies, National Committee on Science Education Standards and Assessment, National Research Council, 1996

Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS) of the National Center for Education Statistics, 1996.     

US Department of Education, Science Achievement. An assessment of the impact of the No Child Left Behind Act on science achievement.

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