Project 2061 — Having an Impact
At
the request of The Pew Charitable Trusts,
one of Project 2061's principal funders, SRI
International concluded a year-long study evaluation of the influence
of Science for All Americans and Benchmarks for Science Literacy.
Data for the evaluation were collected through expert interviews, reviews
of state science curriculum frameworks and textbooks, telephone and mail surveys,
and case studies of reform activities in six states. Here are some of the
highlights of the SRI study:
| "...a coherent, comprehensive, and compelling vision of science
literacy." -SRI International, 1996 |
National Impact
- According to the SRI report, Science for All Americans and Benchmarks
for Science Literacy reflect the "best thinking in science education
reform..." and Project 2061 has "provided a banner around which
science education reformers could rally...." By widely promoting
the documents to scientists and educators, SRI says, Project 2061 has
"changed the national climate for science education reform...."
- Project 2061 has brought into the mainstream of education discourse some
core ideas about science education reform: that science is a subject to
be learned by all students; that science programs must be coherent, not
just a collection of random facts and activities; and that the natural
and social sciences, mathematics, and technology are interrelated.
- Project 2061 has been a major influence on the development of national
science education standards and on reform initiatives sponsored by the
National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, and a number
of other national education and science organizations.
- Project 2061's influence on science textbooks can be seen most readily
in the books' introductory passages and in the annotated teacher's guides.
To a large extent, however, it appears that reform ideas such as those
promoted by Project 2061's publications and the science standards have
not yet been widely adopted by textbook publishers.
State Impact
- In interviews with education leaders from 27 states, SRI found that "a
remarkably high percentage of them (90%) currently use or refer to Benchmarks
in their day-to-day work" and 80% of them spontaneously mentioned
Benchmarks and Science for All Americans as a primary source
of information. Nearly all the leaders interviewed said Project 2061 had
played a major role in defining science literacy in their respective states.
- SRI's review of 43 state curriculum frameworks or standards-type documents
and its case studies in Colorado, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, South
Carolina, and Wyoming confirm Project 2061's influence on state-level
reform efforts.
Individual Impact
- 92% of workshop participants surveyed reported that increasing their familiarity
with Project 2061 was of significant or major benefit to their work.
- Teacher educators, in particular, found the workshops very beneficial
to their work, and most of them make use of Science for All Americans
(92%) and Benchmarks for Science Literacy (90%) in their practice.
- 85% of the teachers surveyed consider Benchmarks for Science Literacy
an influence on what they teach, compared to 72% who report their science
textbook as an influence.
Get
a PDF of the SRI International Report Executive Summary
1996. Project 2061 — Having an Impact.
Excerpted from Evaluation of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science's Project 2061. Zucker, A. A., Young, V. M., Luczak, J. M. (1996).
Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.
