kentucky academic standards science

kentucky academic standards science

Analyzing the Kentucky Academic Standards for Science

1. Introduction to the Kentucky Academic Standards for Science

In 2009, the Kentucky General Assembly replaced the Kentucky Program of Studies with new, more rigorous standards for all grades and content areas that have been adopted by the Kentucky Board of Education. On February 11, 2019, the Kentucky General Assembly passed a new version of the regulation for the Kentucky Academic Standards that went into effect on April 10, 2019. In January 2020, the Kentucky Board of Education voted to adopt written curriculum aligned with these standards. To ensure that students graduate college and career ready, all Kentuckians must work together to provide a high-quality curriculum and diverse opportunities for all students to achieve the standards needed for success with the skills necessary to ensure a secure and effective future workforce.

Of the three components identified by the Kentucky Department of Education that make up written curriculum, the Kentucky Academic Standards for science serve as the foundation of the three components that make up the Science Written Curriculum design. The following resources should guide instruction and provide explicit examples of the expectations of each grade level and high school biology, chemistry, earth science, and physics course. The Kentucky Academic Standards serve as the foundation of content and skills, the Science Practices provide a continued focus on hands-on, minds-on inquiry-based teaching and learning while incorporating key skills required for college and the STEM workforce, and these skills occur in the context of 21st Century Themes (i.e. health literacy, environmental literacy, financial literacy, etc.).

2. Key Components of the Standards

The standards consist of three dimensions that provide a full picture of science. These three dimensions are integrated in the Performance Expectations (PEs) and not Appendix G, their constituent parts, nor their subcategories. This is one of the great shifts from Western Kentucky University to new NGSS-based science standards. Each Performance Expectation articulates three essential components: 1) the Disciplinary Core Idea – a statement of the idea itself before any specific practices and or crosscutting concepts; 2) the Crosscutting Concept – concepts that span multiple science and engineering disciplines and provide a way of linking them together, enabling transfer from one domain to another and aid in understanding where the Disciplinary Core Ideas and the Science and Engineering Practices are used in the natural world; 3) the Science and Engineering Practice – tools and scientific methodology, such as: Asking questions and defining problems, Developing and using models, Planning and carrying out investigations, Analyzing and interpreting data, Using mathematics and computational thinking. Our guidance of Appendix G and implementation of all three of its parts must happen regularly each day in classrooms to support student learning and understanding of the standards and science. With this in mind, three divisions or sections of Appendix G further help define the elements of Performance Expectations.

3. Implementation and Impact in Educational Settings

The Kentucky Academic Standards for Science are composed of five essential processes that enrich the scientific and engineering practices used in science classrooms. Scientific literacy is the focus of the classroom procedures outlined in the academic standards document. Classroom success can be formalized by incorporating assessments from the state’s assessment system that align with the standards and guidelines outlined in the respective documents. Without support from the administration at a school and district level, few changes will take place in the instructional practices of elementary and secondary science teachers. Utilizing professional learning opportunities and communities of practice will allow science educators to highlight the success of incorporating the curriculum content, science and engineering practices, and the scientific literacy goals in science education.

With the release of the Kentucky Academic Standards for Science (KAS) in 2013, the Commonwealth shifted the focus of building teacher capacity from the traditional model to using a research-based approach, which is more sustained and embedded professional learning. The KAS provides students, parents, caregivers, and communities with an understanding of high expectations for what students should know and be able to do at the conclusion of instruction in kindergarten through high school graduation. These standards emphasize scientific literacy as the focus in Kentucky classrooms. As districts continue to implement the KAS in all science classrooms, it is important that the teachers are supported in order for them to continue to promote scientific literacy in their instructional methods.

4. Assessment and Accountability Measures

It is critical that assessments at all levels – local, district, state, and national – be aligned to the Kentucky Academic Standards for Science. At the school and district level, diagnostic tools should be used to determine where students score in relation to grade level content standards and objectives. The Kentucky Core Content and Program of Studies Assessment reference chart can be used to examine the alignment of a particular assessment to the Program of Studies.

The new science assessment will take 1-3 hours, depending on grade, with a fall and spring window to assess the Program of Studies. Read-anchor-descriptor tables, forms of the assessment, and additional information about the content of the assessment can be found on the KDE website.

The Science Sample Items, available from the Kentucky Department of Education, can be used by teachers to understand the most important student skills and knowledge within a standard and the format in which that skill may be assessed. It is advised that teachers be familiar with the items and discuss the items in item analysis, scoring training, and curriculum component analysis.

Elimination of the KIRIS assessment offers a rare opportunity to “reinvent” the way we evaluate learning and school effectiveness. The assessment has much more value from an instructional standpoint than it will have in terms of public accountability. School leaders and their stakeholders should develop local process measures, such as schoolwide curriculum audit, teacher portfolio assessments, and student demonstrations of understanding and application. This strategy returns the focus back to student learning. Traditional assessments can continue to be implemented where they have the most value in local quality improvement processes.

5. Future Directions and Recommendations for Improvement

The present study provides a research base for the future development of standards for school science in Kentucky. Not since the Pathways to Science project have teachers’ instruction, Kentucky’s content standards, and the most recent research about the science content taught in Kentucky been analyzed concurrently. The present study can serve as a starting point for teams of teachers and content specialists involved in the development of the Kentucky Academic Standards for Science. Findings from the study are also useful to other states constructing content standards since the science content taught in Kentucky, while unique, is not unlike that of other states.

The survey, a major data source for the study, is an efficient means of collecting information from a large number of teachers about the wildlife with which they teach. Teachers found it convenient to complete, and their response rate, adjustments made to the schedule, and large sample size suggest the instrument is appropriate for future applications. The findings from the study suggest that academic standards for the science content taught in Kentucky, and animal science in particular, might be improved if organized at a more detailed level and if the content emphasized by teacher teams is supplemented by other research-based standards.