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College Board introduces AP course for advanced high-school students.
AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Physics -
$$ 887 millions are assigned to science education programs nationwide.
In response to the launch of the first satellite by the Soviet Union, Congress passes the national Defense Education Act, with a total budget of $887 millions that will support science education in public educational institutions. Congress will also double he funds destined to the National Science Foundation , a federal agency that supports research, teacher training and curriculum development. -
Science Curriculum development committees are organized nation wide.
With NSF support a myriad of curriculum development projects are developed by different institutions. Different committees are organized, such as Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, CHEM Study, the Physical Sciences Study Committee at MIT and Harvard Project Physics. -
Teacher Training begins!
NSF funds the first summer training institute for elementary educators and increases the number of institutes for high schools teachers. -
Arkansas' "anti-evolution" statute, is ruled "unconstitutional".
The Arkansas legislature passed a law prohibiting teachers in public or state-supported schools from teaching, or using textbooks that teach, human evolution. Epperson, a public school teacher, sued, claiming the law violated her First Amendment right to free speech as well as the Establishment Clause. The State Chancery Court ruled that it violated his free speech rights; the State Supreme Court reversed. -
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American students are tested nationwide about science and other subjects.
The first National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) exam tests what American students nationwide know about science and other subjects. NAEP begins testing science knowledge at the state level in 1996. -
Apollo 11 lands on the moon, inspiring many generations to pursue careers in Science.
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Physics for Poets.
Physics for Poets, a college textbook that explains physics to non-science majors without using math, is published. -
Our environment matters!
President Nixon signs the National Environmental Education Act, which creates the Office of Environmental Education to provide grants for curriculum development and teacher training. The office is eliminated by Congress in the 1980s, but revived and relocated to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1990.
1975 -
Meters or miles?... Miles wins
Congress creates the U.S. Metric Board to promote voluntary adoption of the metric system of measurement, used in science classrooms but not in daily American life. The public resists, and an opportunity to demystify science slips away when the board disbands in 1982. -
"321 Contact" T.V Science
“321 Contact,” the first science television show for kids funded by the federal government, airs on PBS, featuring a disco theme song and cameo appearances by a young Sarah Jessica Parker. -
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Reagan, budget problems and less Science in the classrooms. He repents. Science is back!
President Reagan’s fiscal year 1982 budget slashes funding for the National Science Foundation by 70 percent, eliminating all NSF support for K-12 science initiatives, including teacher institutes and curriculum development.
President Reagan restores some NSF funding for K-12 science programs and creates the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, which gives out $10,000 prizes to the nation’s 100 top math and science teachers each year. -
Science benchmarks are published.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science launches Project 2061, a math and science reform group that defines scientific literacy in its reports “Science for All Americans” and “Benchmarks for Science Literacy.” -
To dissect or not dissect. That is the question, in Florida.
Florida passes a law allowing students to opt out of dissecting animals in science class. Fourteen more states have since passed similar laws, board of education policies or state resolutions, spawning a cottage industry in virtual dissection technology. -
Inquiry-based curricula is included. Science can be FUN!
The Science Education for Public Understanding Program (SEPUP), based at the Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California-Berkeley, starts developing hands-on, inquiry-based curricula that explore societal issues like food safety and water pollution to make science more engaging. -
Lets get Physics...y'all!
The “Physics First” movement begins to grow, as teachers and scientists push to teach physics rather than biology in ninth grade to allow more advanced study of biology and chemistry in subsequent years. -
Science gets organized.
The National Research Council produces the National Science Education Standards, a set of goals for teaching, student knowledge and assessment. -
AP Enviromental Science gets in the classroom.
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Science teachers needed!
U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley creates the National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century, led by former U.S. Senator and astronaut John Glenn, to look into strategies to improve mathematics and science teaching. The Commission’s 2000 report, “Before It’s Too Late,” says bonuses and higher salaries are needed to attract more science teachers. -
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Computer Science and Forensic Science, new pals in Science Town
The 2000s arrive with a new interest in the Science area. Students are inspired by the TV Serie "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation", to learn more about Forensic and Computers Science. With the No Child Left Behind Act the focus was put again in Math and Reading, to improve scores in the Standardized Tests. -
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2013 Next Generation Science Standars
The new standards were developed by 26 state governments and national organizations of scientists and science teachers. The mission of the new standards is to, "combat widespread scientific ignorance, to standardize teaching among states, and to raise the number of high school graduates who choose scientific and technical majors in college...." Topics, such as climate change and evolution are supported with a vast amount of experimental activities. The scientific method is emphasized.