SALT LAKE CITY — Members of the Utah State Board of Education voted on Friday to adopt a new set of science standards for students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades.

Students, as a result, will likely see a greater emphasis on engineering concepts in science classes, as well as more discussions based on current scientific knowledge and practices starting in fall of 2017.

"I'm excited for it. I think this gives teachers an opportunity to move forward with some high-quality standards where we're getting students actively doing science in the classroom," said Josh Stowers, president of the Utah Science Teachers Association. "With the changing landscape of society and communities, I think these offer an opportunity for us to step up the science education for our students."

Academic standards specify the concepts students are expected to master for specific subjects in each grade. Utah's current science standards for middle school students haven't been updated in 13 years, and education leaders began discussions to revise them in 2013.

A 200-member State Science Education Coordinating Committee oversaw the drafting and revision of the standards. That committee was made up of science specialists from schools throughout the state, as well as local science education experts.

The original draft of the new standards was based almost entirely on the Next Generation Science Standards, which were developed by a national consortium of educators and science experts, similar to the Common Core.

The Utah State Office of Education later hosted two periods of public comment on the proposal, and more than 1,500 comments were provided. Those comments led to several revisions, including what education leaders say is a closer focus on the scientific method.

The new standards introduce a stronger overlay of engineering principles and problem-solving strategies that students are required to understand. Technological advancements, such as GPS, communication devices and other tools are also included in the new standards.

"Teachers are excited for this. Students are ready for this. We have a Legislature who is poised to put tons of money into STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education," said Ricky Scott, a science education specialist at the Utah State Office of Education. "We cannot do that with 13-year-old science standards that do not meet those needs."

The board adopted the standards in an 11-4 vote, with members Jefferson Moss, Joel Wright, Jennifer Johnson and Laura Belnap voting against.

School board requests public input for proposed middle school science standards

A set of proposed science standards for middle schoolers is again open for public comment after the standards were rewritten in light of feedback from teachers, parents and other stakeholders. (Photo: Jordan Allred/File Photo)

Mixed feelings

Since before the first public comment period of 90 days this summer and up until the final adoption Friday, parents and educators have expressed a variety of views on the content of the standards and the adoption process. Much of the controversy surrounding the standards was due to their close resemblance to the Next Generation Science Standards, as well as content areas on climate change and evolution.

David Thomas, vice chairman of the State School Board, said the original draft was "very political in nature" and was "short on science fact, and, at times, short on the scientific method."

But after revisions, 36 percent of the adopted standards are a "carbon copy" of the Next Generation Science Standards, Thomas said. Forty-two percent of the content deals with the same topics as the consortium-developed standards, and 22 percent is "completely different," he said.

"Consequently, these aren't NGSS standards," Thomas said. "These are Utah standards. … We've depoliticized the standards, and at the same time, we're still living true to teaching science fact as well as scientific method."

Some say classroom discussions shouldn't shy away from climate change, evolution and other controversial topics, but instead, present arguments on both sides and let students decide.

Seth Jarvis, director of the Clark Planetarium, said he supports the standards as an improvement on the current model, but the standards should go into further detail on climate change as an issue students will deal with later in their lives.

"You cannot claim to be providing 21st century education to 12-year-olds if you ignore or shortchange them on instruction for the thing that is going to determine the world they live in as adults," Jarvis said. "While I strongly endorse the proposed changes — I think they're a big step forward — they are, in fact, barely adequate."

Rhonda Hair, a parent from Salt Lake County, said that while she's concerned about some of the content of the standards, school districts and charter schools should be given more autonomy in determining what standards are used.

"The parents and the teachers are the only ones who know the students," Hair said. "The districts should have full control over the standards as well as curriculum. … We need to take really all the decisions back down to as local of a level as possible."

Board member Joel Wright, who voted against adopting the standards, also felt that decisions with regard to specific academic expectations should be decided by individual schools and districts.

"They're very comfortable doing it on their own," Wright said. "As Utah gets bigger and larger, I hope we'll think about this more about when we should be helping districts and when we should let districts go on their own and decide things on their own."

The State School Board has set academic standards for Utah since 1984 under provisions of the Utah Constitution. Federal policy also requires Utah and other states to adopt "college and career-ready" standards in order to receive federal funding and a waiver from provisions of No Child Left Behind. But establishing curriculum is left up to local school districts and charters.

What's next?

Schools will begin implementing the new science standards during a pilot period in the 2017-18 school year, with full implementation anticipated the following year.

Scott, who oversaw the drafting and revision of the standards, said new test questions for SAGE, Utah's year-end assessment, will have to be developed in light of the new standards. That could cost as much as $1.5 million if the science portions for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders is created from scratch.

"The likelihood of that is very, very slim that we will need that much money," he said, adding that an estimated 25 percent of current test questions could be re-used.

Professional development and implementation on a local level could also cost between $40,000 and $70,000 per district, according to a fiscal analysis. But those funds are already available, Scott said.

"Our hope is that our pilot year really becomes a statewide pilot. Hopefully when it comes to assessment, it's just a seamless process," he said. "We're going to have teachers with the support that they need.

"It's exciting," he said. "We have a lot of teachers who have just been on bated breath."

Ken O'Brien, science specialist for the Salt Lake City School District, said he looks forward to helping teachers implement the standards, which he hopes will give students a "far more robust" educational experience.

"These standards provide that robust academic language, and the students in Salt Lake City School District deserve access to those standards," O'Brien said. "It's time to teach."

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