House Legislation Sets Science Accountability Standards

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) of 2001 was crafted to force schools to meet goals for student performance or risk facing penalties such as losing federal funds. The program initially focused on testing students for proficiency in math and reading, but starting in the 2007-08 academic year, schools will add science to the tested subjects. However, NCLBA does not hold schools accountable for science testing results, as it does for math and reading.

To ensure that K-12 students are learning science and in preparation to begin science testing, Rep. Vernon J. Ehlers (R-Mich.) introduced the Science Accountability Act (H.R. 5442), which includes science in the state accountability system currently governing math and reading under NCLBA. According to the legislation, adding science to the annual accountability system would start during the 2008-09 academic year.

The bill also adds annual assessments of science education progress. Under NCLBA, states will be required to test science skills only once during the span of three grades; that is, they must test students once during grades three to five, once during grades six to nine, and once during grades 10 to 12. Ehlers' bill instead would require testing for students every year in grades three to eight starting in the 2009-10 academic year. This change would bring the science requirements up to those of math and reading.

"When Congress originally authorized the NCLB Act, the intent was to hold states and schools accountable for ensuring students are learning science once the assessments were developed and in place," Ehlers said in a statement. He added that his legislation would make certain that the original intent of NCLBA is carried out.

Among the organizations that support this legislation is the American Chemical Society. "The current debate on this issue in Congress is about how best to prepare our children to compete for the best jobs of the 21st century," says ACS President E. Ann Nalley, adding that "making sure students learn science is a huge part of doing that."

Nalley notes that for the U.S. to remain a technological leader, U.S. students must learn about science early and often from well-prepared teachers. "Adding science to the accountability standards alongside math and reading is the best way to ensure science is taught well and gets the attention it deserves," she tells C&EN.

Detractors of NCLBA are not likely to welcome additional requirements. Teachers, parents, and state education officials have already complained that the math and reading testing is shifting teaching plans away from other subjects. There is also wide concern that adding a science requirement to NCLBA would only exacerbate the strain on the limited resources appropriated to support the act.

The legislation has been referred to the House Committee on Education & the Workforce, but congressional insiders agree that it is not likely to be acted on this year. Instead, the issues raised in Ehlers' bill will likely be part of the NCLBA reauthorization, which is scheduled to be taken up at the end of 2007.