Earth to MCAS

By Daniel Barstow and Maria T. Zuber  |  May 30, 2005

WHETHER IT'S the Big Dig, the proposed Cape Cod wind farm, the Indian Ocean tsunami, NASA's ambitious space programs, or the challenges of global warming, earth science is vitally important to our understanding of the world. Earth science is also essential to billion-dollar industries that require a talented workforce and educated public.

So it's puzzling to see that earth science was excluded from the state's proposed MCAS high school science tests. This is a remarkable omission given that earth science is an integral part of the Massachusetts science curriculum framework (and the National Science Education Standards), and that 28 percent of our students take earth science by graduation. Earth science is the only field of science left off the candidate test list. And let's face it, if it isn't tested, it won't get the attention of educators or students.

The State Board of Education is soliciting public comment on whether earth science should be included as an option in the state's testing, along with biology, chemistry, and physics. To make an informed decision, we should consider the role earth science plays in our society and the changing nature of earth science in the classroom.

In fact, earth and space science education has gone through a revolution. It is no longer just ''memorizing a bunch of rocks." Instead, students use state-of-the-art technology to investigate the dynamics of the earth's processes. With many of the tools and data that scientists use, students can track hurricanes and investigate the connections between earthquakes and tsunamis. They learn about ocean currents and their effect on weather patterns. They study the regrowth of life in the area around Mount St. Helens and monitor the progress of the rovers exploring Mars. Students can even take their own pictures of Earth using a camera on the International Space Station.

These new classroom experiences are driven by a remarkable growth in earth science research and industry. From energy and agriculture to manufacturing and construction, earth science lies at the core of the industries that drive our economy. For example, the procurement and use of energy -- fossil fuels, solar, hydrogen, wind -- are fundamentally rooted in earth science. Earth science is also vital to our security. It supports emergency preparedness and civil defense against natural and human disaster and plays an ongoing role in homeland security and military efforts abroad. Indeed, earth science innovations like the global positioning system have revolutionized both civilian society and our military.

Earth science is particularly important to Massachusetts. From the water quality of Boston Harbor and managing fishing stocks in Georges Banks to the next nor'easter tracking up the coast and air pollution wafting from the Midwest, earth science plays a key role in the state's welfare.

Earth science education is a powerful way to develop scientific thinking and problem solving and to integrate lessons learned in biology, chemistry, and physics. Students make sense of the complexity of nature and appreciate science in the world around them. Earth science education produces a science-literate citizenry able to make informed decisions concerning community development, environmental impacts, and energy policy, issues that will affect, if not define, the economy and our lives.

Education in earth science addresses the shortage of professionals needed to study how to best balance the need to utilize our precious resources with the desire to preserve our environment. The private sector increasingly requires earth scientists, as do local, state, and federal agencies and the armed forces. Yet there are not enough budding scientists to meet these needs. With the nation challenged by growing global competition, America's proficiency in earth science will strongly impact its status in the world.

Earth science education is a strategic imperative that is already an integral part of the state's elementary, middle, and high school curriculums. But if it is not part of the state's high school testing, it will not be taught. Our schools focus on preparing students to pass these tests, making the tests the de facto education standards.

We urge the Board of Education to make earth science part of MCAS testing. In doing so, we will invest in the future.

Daniel Barstow is director of TERC's Center for Earth & Space Science Education in Cambridge. Maria T. Zuber is head of the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at MIT.