State closer to requiring students to pass science MCAS

The science MCAS inched closer to joining English and math as a high school graduation requirement yesterday when the state Board of Education asked the public to weigh in on the plan.

The board is expected to formally adopt the requirement in June. Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll said that depending on the public comment, he would recommend that the class of 2010 be the first to have to pass a science test to earn a diploma. The department will take public comments on the proposed requirement in writing over the next two months at www.doe.mass.edu/news.asp.

''There is a tremendous sense of urgency that we in America are not producing kids that are scientifically literate," Driscoll said. ''And we need to do something about it because the rest of the world, quite frankly, is going by us."

Science is one of several subjects, including foreign language and history, that are supposed to become graduation requirements under the 1993 Education Reform Act. But the board never set a date for science to be phased in, and in January Governor Mitt Romney pressed it to act.

Yesterday, the board voted, 6 to 1, to advance the plan. The governor issued a statement saying the vote was ''a positive step."

Today's seventh-graders would be the first who must pass an exam in one of several scientific subjects to earn a diploma. Pupils would first take the test in 2008 and have several chances to pass.

A group of business and science leaders urged the board yesterday to favor the requirement, saying it would encourage schools to focus on the sciences. Too few US students are going into science fields, they said. ''This is a national problem, but it's more foreboding for a technology-rich state like ours," said Chris Anderson, president of the Massachusetts High Technology Council.

Board member Harneen Chernow, who cast the dissenting vote, said she was worried about high failure rates. Almost a third of last year's eighth-graders -- and more than 6 in 10 Hispanic, black, and special education students -- flunked the science test. Only fifth- and eighth-graders take the science MCAS now.

''My question is whether adding a new high-stakes requirement is going to result in higher standards," Chernow said. ''I'm just not convinced."