by Kerry Fehr-Snyder - Feb. 12, 2012 09:38 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com

High-school standards covering chemistry and physiology are "distressingly inadequate.''

Evolution gets short shrift.

And guidelines to help students grasp modern biology are "skimpy.''

For those and other reasons, Arizona has earned a "D" for its school science standards from the non-profit Thomas B. Fordham Institute, based in Washington, D.C., and Dayton, Ohio.

"Arizona's science standards are generally weak on content and are plagued by disorganization and a frustrating lack of cohesion,'' the institute reported in January. The group describes itself as committed to the renewal and reform of primary and secondary education in the United States.

Other states received even harsher criticism. Ten received an "F" for their standards, including Wyoming, Wisconsin and Montana. Only California and the District of Columbia received an "A."

The grades were based on an examination of the current K-12 science standards for every state and District of Columbia.

In issuing the report, the institute said high science standards are necessary if America is to remain "prosperous, scientifically-advanced and economically competitive.''

Arizona is among several states beginning to establish a common set of science standards that will be internationally benchmarked. The framework is known as the next-generation science standards.

"One of the issues has been and will be that states set their own standards," said Darcy Renfro, vice president and director of science, technology, engineering and math initiatives at Science Foundation Arizona. "There is a great mismatch of science standards."

Unlike math and English, there is no common core standard for science adopted by all states.

Arizona's grade on science standards mirrors those given in 2005 when the last review of national science standards was conducted. The study comes as businesses and schools are trying to boost education in STEM to compete in the global economy and for national security.

"It's incredibly important to American competitiveness and our national security," said Kathleen Porter-Magee, senior director of high-quality standards for the institute.

Researchers criticized Arizona for "spotty and unsystematic" science standards in high school.

They also faulted Arizona for:

Employing disorganized standards.

Poorly conceiving concepts under which standards are grouped.

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Group slams Arizona science standards