Systemic Reform through Teacher Change: Congruence and contradiction

The need for the systemic reform of science and mathematics education in the USA has become a national priority. Politicians, business and the learned societies are demanding change in the performance of US students relative to the best international standards such as those measures by the TIMMS tests. The National Science Foundation is responding to this challenge in providing funding for systemic reform initiatives across many school districts. These reform efforts usually over five years are beginning to show signs of institutionalized change in teacher practice. However the community chorus for enhanced student test scores has resulted in the proliferation of high stakes standardized tests, usually the low-cost pencil and paper variety. These tests have the potential to sidetrack genuine reform efforts in science education such as those contained in the National Science Education Standards (NSES). This paper analyses the congruence and contradictions of this current reform agenda.