tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16814123.post113406449267036850..comments2023-08-02T09:58:02.508-06:00Comments on BH's Weblog o' blog: Low Scores? Are they important?Hatakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12809409284770263323noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16814123.post-1134492339861996502005-12-13T09:45:00.000-07:002005-12-13T09:45:00.000-07:00Of course I am in a department whose subject is de...Of course I am in a department whose subject is deemed insufficiently important to warrant a CSAP, but it seems like if you teach science the way you think you should, the students will do fairly well on a test, unless there truly is something wrong with the test. So, construct away!Roger Hesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15461186231066574933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16814123.post-1134141562939153792005-12-09T08:19:00.000-07:002005-12-09T08:19:00.000-07:00I think the story is actually talking about state ...I think the story is actually talking about state science standards themselves being inadequate, not students failing on the tests (since they aren't required yet).<BR/><BR/>I think it will be very interesting to see how AHS does on the Science CSAP, given that we've always done well on other standardized science tests. But - and I know I'm in the minority here - I still think that focusing on these tests is the absolutely wrong thing to do. While the tests are certainly one point of data to help us evaluate, I would agree with your statement that we should be more worried about creating an interest in science, along with ability in science. <BR/><BR/>I think there are really two levels here. We want all students to be scientifically thoughtful and able to discuss and analyze our world from a scientific perspective. I think it is going to be more and more important that they are scientifically "literate" so that they can help society make good decisions based on the best scientific evidence. They need to be able to evaluate the science - and the statistics that go along with it - in order to make good decisions.<BR/><BR/>And then we want our students who are going to continue with their study of science beyond the high school level to really be doing science, not just learning about how science has been done (related to your comment in class about how we really should call our classes the History of Science). I think it's key that we try to get our students truly involved in the scientific process as much as possible, even if that means letting them go down the wrong path for a while in their investigations (what we were talking about in class the other day). Obviously we eventually must get them back on the right path, but I want to repeat my statement from class that I find it ironic that all the great science has been done by people who spent most of their time making mistakes and learning from them, but we rarely let students in our science classes do that.Karl Fischhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11121548023409279686noreply@blogger.com