New Science Curriculum for Portage Public Schools

This site is a place for parents interested in science education to share information about changes that are being made to the science curriculum in the public schools in Portage, Michigan

Easy-to-remember URL: portagescience.org . . . . . . . . . . .To skip ahead to navigational links click here.

WHAT'S NEW? (last updated 8-June-2004)

Attention parents of current 8th and 9th graders: Even although you've already signed up as required by PPS, your science course selection can be changed any time over the next several months. There is still plenty of time for PPS to offer students more interested in science the choice of taking full-year in-depth science classes similar to those offered in Midland, although they'll need some encouragement to do so.

Background: In May of 2003 a committee of 42 individuals was formed to undertake a review of the K-12 science curriculum in the Portage School District. Based on this analysis, gaps and areas of overlap were identified, certain areas were redesigned, and a "new and improved" curriculum was proposed. In late October and November, a series of informational meetings was offered where parents were given an opportunity to comment. Parents who expressed concerns were told by the Administration that their concerns would be addressed and that the new curriculum would not be voted on until the December 15 School Board meeting. To the dismay of many of us, at the November 24 School Board meeting the Board voted to implement the new curriculum. They did ask for further input, suggested some adjustments were needed and called for "flexibility in course offerings" without detailing how those adjustments would be identified and then made.

A good description of the changes planned for the 2004-2005 school year (and other useful information) is provided at the Portage Public Schools Science Curriculum Review Site. All parents are advised to review the information available on the PortagePS site.

The most noticeable change is that the Freshman and Sophomore years will now consist of a sequence of four semester-long courses: Chemistry followed by Physics (or Physics followed by Chemistry for half the students) in 9th grade, and Biology followed by Earth Science (or Earth Science followed by Biology) in 10th grade. This offers good exposure to the full breadth of science to the student who plans to only take the minimum science required, but presents some interesting dilemmas to the student who plans to take four years of science in preparation for a technical course of study in college.

For the student who wants to take four rigorous years of science, they are usually encouraged to take one of the 2-year IB-HL science courses in 11th/12th grades. This leaves them with five semesters in that discipline, but only a single semester in each of the other disciplines, and that's not likely to prepare them for the types of real science courses they'll be taking in college, other than in his or her one area of focus. Some parents are concerned that the end of 10th grade is too young for most kids to be choosing an area of specialty. One area of strength and two areas of weakness is NOT good college preparation, and many fields including engineering and medicine require a broad background. Most parents are looking for a broad and comprehensive background from the high school experience, and the new curriculum does not appear to meet the needs of the more academically oriented students.

Other concerns about the new experimental curriculum are that it hasn't been tested to see if it can be expected to work, it places even more emphasis on group study and self-discovery methods than is optimum, it may not be a good fit with the IB program that emphasizes two-year science courses, and it's not clear how may universities have waived the expectation that high school graduates would have a full year of each of the three core sciences. Furthermore, PPS points out it's important what order each discipline of science is taught (i.e., Chemistry first, Biology before Earth Science), but yet it proposes to teach only half the kids Biology before Earth Science with the other half receiving Earth Science before Biology. How are these classes going to flow when the ecology principles to be taught in Earth Science are predicated on fundamentals of Biology that may or may not be taught beforehand? Will there have to be two different sets of curricula depending on what the sequence of courses is? Will it be possible to debug this untested curriculum "on the fly"?

The Portage Public Schools administration is often evaluated based on MEAP and other standardized test scores. Since MEAP scores are often reported to show the percentage of students that meet or exceed a certain standard, emphasis is often placed on more effectively teaching the weaker student, and we're all glad the schools work hard to leave no child behind. However, our schools should also be concerned about academically talented students, since it is very important to train advanced problem-solvers capable of world-class thinking if we're going to maintain our standing in a very competitive global arena. Future jobs will depend on it! Intended and unintended consequences of curriculum changes on students in the highest quartile are just as important as what happens for those in the lower quartile. Let's implement curricula the benefit ALL students.

Changes that were made to the math curriculum over the past decade or so in many school districts across the country have had the effect of "leveling out" differences between stronger and weaker students (e.g., see MathematicallyCorrect.com). The purpose of this web site is to make sure that doesn't also happen with science. Compromises are proposed that will help the lower quartile without hurting the middle or the upper quartiles. If you have concerns, comments, and/or suggestions, please email them to us using this link. Thanks for sharing your thoughts for other parents to browse and ruminate on.

Special Note: At the December 15 School Board meeting, the "No Child Left Behind" legislation was used to justify a change from full-year to semester-only science classes in 9th and 10th grades. To see more information about this issue, click here.

CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION-

To sign a petition that offers choice in 9th/10th grades, go to the "Take Action" link or click here.

Disclaimer: This web site is in no way affiliated with the Portage School District. It was set up and is maintained by a group of parents concerned about the quality of science education in Portage's Public Schools. The views expressed are NOT those of PPS. Since this site was launched, the original group of parents merged with the Portage Parents for Quality Education (PPQE). Opinions expressed include those of this group, as well as others, and PPQE does not necessarily agree with all comments posted on this site. The purpose of the site is to foster an exchange of ideas, and let the reader decide which ones make sense and which don't. If you have concerns you'd like posted, or have information that may be helpful to others, please email the webmaster.

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