A Critical Review of the Massachusetts Next Generation Science and Technology/Engineering Standards. Policy Brief

Stan Metzenberg offers a critical analysis of the draft "Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Standards," which are for pre-Kindergarten to Grade 8 and introductory high school courses. Metzenberg claims that the document reveals significant, unacceptable gaps in science content, as well as some notable errors and inaccuracies. They are stunningly devoid of Mendelian genetics and large parts of cellular biology, which he sees that as an astonishing oversight for a state that has notable institutions of higher education and a thriving biotechnology industry. The principles of evolutionary biology are also incomplete and sometimes incorrectly stated. Metzenberg continues by saying that the standards are largely unintelligible because of abuses of the language, and sometimes grammatically incorrect. They do not support the stated purpose of standards, to indicate what students should know and be able to do. In fact, it is not certain, because of the feverish use of "action verbs" in this document, whether students will actually "know." Metzenberg recommends that the draft be withdrawn from further consideration. In this brief he focuses on biological sciences, his area of expertise and explains why each gap is so significant.