Yesterday I raised the question whether literacy in reading and math was necessary to teach and learn science. I was prompted by the statement made recently by the Atlanta Public School District’s superintendent that she was not concerned that science scores were low when the district needed to emphasize literacy, not science. And of course the reason for this is that literacy is what is tested on the No Child Left Behind Law (NCLB) Assessment program. Although the Georgia Department of Education does test in the area of science, the bottom line is how well schools do on the NCLB assessment.

However, science ought to be emphasized in Atlanta’s schools, K – 12. It is outrageous that Atlanta is using testing as an excuse for not emphasizing science in its curriculum. The resources in Atlanta in the area of science are first-rate. There are four major universities (Clark Atlanta University, Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University). Fernbank Museum is located in Atlanta. Zoo Atlanta is home to the Georgia Panda Project. And just last year, the former co-owner of Home Depot financed and built the Georgia Aquarium, the largest aquarium in the world. The Atlanta Botanical Gardens are some of the most beautiful in the country, and they are located in Atlanta adjacent to Piedmont Park. The Atlanta School District has had a history of serious involvement in science education over the past 30 years, and there is no reason why science could not be used to foster fundamental changes in the district.

Atlanta participated in the recent test that was administered by NAEP, the Science Report for the Trial Urban Districts Assessment. The purpose of the test was to examine the performance of fourth and eighth grade students in ten American urban school districts. According to the NAEP site, these ten districts are more diverse than the nation’s public schools overall. Fourth grade students in the Atlanta test population did not differ significantly from a comparison group of large central cities, but did score below the national average. For eighth grade students, their scores were lower than the large central cities, and lower than the national average. I recommend that you visit the NAEP site and examine the results from the basis of grade level, as well as race/ethnicity and economic level.

It is outrageous that the Atlanta schools are not a pinnacle for science education, given the context of the district within the midst of such world-class science education institutions. There is the need for these institutions that I mentioned above to join with the Atlanta Public Schools to create a climate of scientific literacy that can be translated into a re-creation of the science curriculum, K – 12. Here in the most scientifically literate and cultural center in the Southeast is a school district that serves youth that could prosper if provided an education that went beyond the basics. A strong science curriculum can foster literacy in other areas such as reading and math, and bring to students the excitement and wonder of science, from astronomy to geology to zoology.

The presidents and directors of the institutions listed above need to join with the Atlanta Public Schools and explore what can be done to improve science education in the schools, and turn the tide in such a way that we do not look the other way when students do not do well on a national test, and claim that we need to pay attention to the areas of the curriculum that are tested by the Federal Government and the State.

With the world’s largest aquarium and four of the nation’s top universities, why can’t this be done?