Oklahoma got a grade of F for its K-12 science education standards, but this time, the state is not alone at the bottom of the pack.

In a state-by-state review, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a think tank based in Washington, D.C., found science education standards in most states are “mediocre to awful, placing America’s national competitiveness, technological prowess and scientific leadership in grave jeopardy.”

Oklahoma was one of 10 states that received an F, while 17 states received a D and 11 states got a C.

“The Oklahoma science standards are simply not OK,” wrote the report’s authors. “Woefully little science content appears, and what is present is often flat-out wrong, oddly worded, or not up to grade level.”

Oklahoma’s science standards scored one point out of seven for content and rigor and one of three for clarity and specificity. The grades were given by a panel of distinguished scientists.

“With rampant mistakes, critical omissions, and below-grade-level expectations, it seems that the content in the Oklahoma science standards could not have been written — or vetted — by anyone with a working knowledge of the natural world,” the authors wrote.

Guide for change

Jeff Downs, director of science, technology, engineering and math for the state Education Department, said the report has further fueled the agency’s drive to improve science standards.

“It brings to light things that we want to really take a look at. We want to take a look at where the mistakes they mention lie. We want to look at what was left out,” he said.

And Downs said his unit will target specific ways to improve the state’s grade.

“If someone like this respectable institute is saying that we have some weaknesses, then we need to address them,” Downs said. “So I am looking at this more as an opportunity. If there are holes in our standards, we need to take a course of action to correct that and see what we can do to better this grade.”

Coincidentally, Downs said the agency is conducting a search for a science director for the Office of Instructional Services, whose first priority will be to organize a committee of kindergarten through 12th-grade stakeholders and experts who will thoroughly investigate each criticism laid out in the report and, if needed, rewrite standards.

“If there are holes in these standards and holes in our curriculum, then it’s our job at our agency to find those holes and fix them,” he said.

Educational standards alone cannot drive outstanding achievement, the report’s authors wrote.

“But they are a necessary starting point. They are the score for conductors, musicians, instrument makers and more. They are the foundation upon which rigorous curricula and instructional materials and assessments are built. They are the template for preparing science teachers for our classrooms,” they wrote.

Standards 2 years old

Downs said Oklahoma’s current standards are about 2 years old and were written as part of the state’s new Priority Academic Student Skills or PASS, a set of standards to guide teachers and school leaders as they plan curricula, instruction and assessment for students.

Downs said the institute’s observations don’t mean Oklahoma students are being shortchanged in science.

“I think there is excellent science education happening around the state of Oklahoma right now,” Downs said. “I’ve seen it firsthand.”