Study shows that the United States overall just doesn’t take science education seriously.
College Park, MD, July 1, 2011 — In a new ranking of how well the states’ K-12 schools are preparing their students for science and engineering careers, Massachusetts leads the pack, while Mississippi trails behind as ‘worst in the United States.’
…
Unlike other state rankings of science education that concentrate on making all students scientifically literate, the SERI uniquely focuses on the high school subjects that research says are most important to future scientists and engineers – physics and calculus.
…
The rankings show that there are a small number of high-performers, but that most states are doing a poor job of preparing students to earn science or technology degrees, says [Paul] Cottle, who notes that students in his own introductory physics classes at FSU face a high risk of doing poorly if they have not taken physics in high school.
Paul Cottle is, of course, the man behind the Bridge to Tomorrow blog that I frequently link to. The Orlando Sentinel School Zone blog also posted about this news.
