Cambridge, Massachusetts, April 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- State science standards meaningfully affect student learning, adult attitudes about science, and future career choices, Benjamin W. Arold (LMU Munich; ifo Center for the Economics of Education at the CESifo Group) reports in a new article for Harvard's Education Next.
As “Academic freedom” bills in states like Florida, Oklahoma, and Arizona challenge the teaching of the origin of life, climate change, and other issues, Arold’s research reveals the far-reaching effects of changes to science standards. These findings are of further interest as the U.S. enters the third year of a deadly pandemic amid public distrust of science and vaccinations.
Arold looked at the impact of changes in how state science standards covered the topic of evolution between 2000 and 2009, when two thirds of U.S. states revised the evolution coverage of their science standards.
Among the key findings:
- State science standards influence evolution knowledge in Grade 12. In states that require comprehensive evolution instruction in high school, students correctly answer more questions about evolution on the 12th-grade science NAEP exam. The impacts are largest for females and students who do not have a computer at home.
- State science standards influence adult attitudes about evolution. Adults who attended high school in states that required they learn about evolution in detail are more likely to agree that human being evolved from other species of animals than adults from states that did not require such instruction. These effects vary by race and religious upbringing, with the largest effect on adults who are Black or were raised in urban communities.
- State science standards influence likelihood of careers in life sciences. Adults who attended high school in states that required they learn about evolution in detail are more likely to work in life sciences.
“My analysis shows that what states require in their educational standards has long-lasting effects on individual attitudes and occupational choices—which, even outside of the challenges of managing a pandemic, can foster innovation, opportunity, and economic growth,” Arold writes. “When state education leaders require comprehensive instruction in evolution theory in high school, they are helping grow the science workforce of the future.”
About the Author: Benjamin W. Arold is PhD Candidate in economics at LMU Munich and a junior economist at the ifo Center for the Economics of Education at the CESifo Group in Munich, Germany.
About Education Next: Education Next is a scholarly journal committed to careful examination of evidence relating to school reform, published by the Education Next Institute and the Program on Education Policy and Governance at the Harvard Kennedy School. For more information, please visit educationnext.org.
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