This editorial originally ran in the Arizona Republic on Feb. 17, 2012:

Science Curriculum Falls Short in AZ

Yes, it happened again.

Something is crummy about public education in Arizona, and, once again, a national group has found us out.

In the current case, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute has sorted through the science curriculum standards of all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and given Arizona's standards a "D." Fordham found the state's curriculum generally weak on content and lacking any formal cohesion.

Evolution gets scant coverage in our schools. Standards for studying important subject matter such as chemistry and physiology are "distressingly inadequate." So, what's new, you ask? Well, the science news in Arizona isn't all doom and gloom.

At least there is a growing commitment to clarify and raise state standards, led by groups like Science Foundation Arizona. This state was among the first to commit to the Next Generation Science Standards, a national collaborative effort to clearly define content and practices for K-12 science education.

The big-picture message of Fordham's study is that virtually all the states are haphazard at best at both teaching science and relating science to its academic cousin, math. Arizona needs to be ahead of the curve on surveys like this one. In this hyper-competitive world, the best "economic development" program a state can have is providing a solid science education to its students.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2012/02/16/20120216editorial0217-science-curriculum-falls-short-ariz.html#ixzz1n3KeWz92