Fordham Institute’s Final Evaluation of Next Generation Science Standards (Fordham Evaluation) Rated as Junk Science.
In this post I am going to provide evidence that the Fordham Evaluation of Next Generation Science Standards is junk science, and does not meet the basic standards of scientific research.  Figure 1 is the Junk Science Evaluation and Index Form that I designed to assess the Fordham Evaluation.  The ten categories are definitions of junk science that emerged from a study by Michael Carolan (2012).  He  assessed ten years (1995 – 2005) of newspaper articles that included the words junk science in the title by systematically analyzing and coding the articles according to how the term was used.  I’ve used the ten definitions as the categories as shown in Figure 1.

Disclaimer: I have major concerns about using national science standards for every school student, K-12.  I also do not subscribe to the rationale or policy upon which the standards movement is based.  The rationale for science described in the NGSS is not related to the conception or philosophy of a sustainable planet, but is instead science in the service of the economic growth of the nation, job training, and economic competitiveness in a global society. The science standards were designed by scientists and engineers, and so there is a heavy emphasis on scientific process and content instead of thinking about science curriculum that would be in the service of children and adolescents.  I have written extensively about this on this blog.  Never-the-less, I have major concerns about the Thomas Fordham’s biased assessment of science education, and write this blog post in this context.  In no way do I endorse the NGSS.

Each category is an indicator that the study under review might be considered junk science.   When partisan or advocacy organizations issue reports, they are often done outside the normal context of scientific research.  In many cases, the reports are written by in-house organizational employees who indeed may have advanced degrees, but who isolate themselves from the research community at large.  Often the reports are not peer-reviewed.  One of the most obvious defects in these reports is that they tend to use methods that are not reproducible or are so murky that the results are clearly suspicious.

I’ve left the form in Figure 1 blank if you would like to reproduce it.

Figure 1. Junk Science Evaluation & Index Form

How Does the Fordham Final Evaluation of the Next Generation Science Standards Stack Up?

The Fordham Institute evaluation of the NGSS is a flawed report based on my assessment of their published document using the Junk Science Evaluation & Index Form.  After reading and reviewing the Fordham report I rated each criteria using a 5 point scale. For each item, I’ve included brief comments explaining my decisions.  As you can see, the overall assessment of the Fordham report was 4.7, which meant that this reviewer strongly agreed with the ten definitions that show that the report is an example of junk science.

Figure 2. Junk Science Evaluation & Index Form of Fordham Institutes Final Evaluation of the NGSS

Even though the Fordham review is junk science, the media, including bloggers on Education Week, have printed stories that largely support the Fordham reports. The National Science Teachers Association, which had a hand in developing the NGSS, wrote a very weak response to Fordham’s criticism of NGSS.

The Thomas Fordham Institute perpetuates untruths about science education primarily to endorse it conservative agenda. It’s time call foul.  In this writer’s analysis, the Fordham Institute report on the NGSS earns an F.

If you have a chance or the time, please use the form in Figure 1 to rate the Fordham Institute report on the NGSS. What was your rating?