SB4 Bill, A Positive Step In The Right Direction For Promoting Scientific Literacy Among All

Diana Wehrell-Grabowski — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 14:27:05 +0000

SB4, the bill on assessment and graduation requirements passed in the Florida House and Senate, and is now headed for Governor Crist’s desk for approval. I see SB4 as a positive stepin the right direction for the state of Florida to insure that all of its students become scientific literate citizens. Essentially the bill will eliminate the Science FCAT at the high school level, and will be replaced by end of the course science and math exams. SB4 modifies the state’s present graduation requirements of 3 science courses by requiring that one of them be a biology class and a second be either a chemistry or physics class. A weakness in SB4 is the lack of addressing the need for students to take an Earth and Space Science related course. Hopefully, this weakness will be addressed in the near future. Opponents of the bill argue that students not seeking to pursue higher education or careers in science and math should not be expected to take additional math and science courses. Unfortunately, the opponents of this bill have yet to conceptualize the “big picture” which is, it’s irrelevant whether a high school student has the desire to continue onto college or into a science or math related career or not. Every individual needs to be exposed to “more advanced” math and science courses so that when they do graduate from high school they are scientific literate citizens. If Governor Crist gives his seal of approval for SB4 I’m hoping that funding is allocated for increased meaningful math, biology, and physics laboratory experiences for the students. Secondly, funding for providing on-going, quality math and science professional staff development for the teachers will be essential for the implementation of SB4’s revised math and science graduation requirements.

FCAT Science » Florida math and science graduation requirements

SB4 Bill, A Positive Step In The Right Direction For Promoting Scientific Literacy Among All