The state Public Education Department Announced That it is Dropping a Plan to Create its Own Science

ing up from the last article the science standards changed within a week. Besides creating a plan of its own for science teaching standards and also instead it will use the Next Generation Science Standards that nearly 20 other states have adopted. Critics of the state agency’s proposed overhaul of the science standards, drafted using Next Generation as a blueprint but omitting several key concepts, had asked officials to consider adopting those guidelines as they were written by scientists and educators from both the National Research Council and the National Science Teachers Association.

Many see the Next Generation model as the most comprehensive and interactive way to teach science in public schools. Public Education Secretary-designate Christopher Ruszkowski said shortly after the department announced the news said, “It's time to reform.”

The decision late Wednesday, just ahead of a legislative committee hearing Thursday morning in which lawmakers were set to question Ruszkowski on changes to science teaching standards in public schools, could allay what had become near-constant criticism of the agency’s initial proposal.

In an interview Ruszkowski said, “One of the hallmarks of what we are trying to do at PED is to step back and reflect and to listen very deeply to all New Mexicans across the state and to move forward.” He also added, “And if there is any doubt that both myself and my team at PED are constantly listening and constantly dialoguing with teachers and parents and families and taxpayers, hopefully any of those doubts will be dispelled.”

Reaction to the news was mixed Wednesday night, with some scientists and educators expressing hopeful optimism and others withholding support until more details were revealed. Other people made different comments than Ruszkowski. They said different things about the Science Standards.

Ruszkowski also said the newly proposed standards must be reviewed and then published, probably by November, and then they will become “the law of the land,” going into effect in July — though they probably won’t be fully implemented until 2020, he said.

Citing recent statewide science test scores that showed just 31.7 percent of Santa Fe students are proficient in science, Ruszkowski said, “We need as a community in Santa Fe … to be just as outraged as student outcomes plummeting as we are about the standards themselves.” At the end they talk about the cost of implementing the new standards.