A good science education program focuses on helping all students gain a solid foundation of core science knowledge and skills. What is essential for a good science education program is: clear and specific learning goals for all students; textbooks and tests that are carefully aligned to those goals; a coherent, well-designed K-12 curriculum; teachers who have the resources and skills to teach effectively; and communities and families that are committed to excellence. With these basics in place, our schools, our teachers, and our students can all succeed.

To help families think about the quality of their children's science education, Project 2061 of the American Association for the Advancement of Science has created questions parents can ask their local schools. These questions were designed to encourage communication – and perhaps spark healthy debate – among parents, teachers, school administrators and the community as a whole.

1. Is science literacy for all high-school graduates a major goal of the K-12 program?
2. What provisions are made in the curriculum for students of different interests, talents, and ambitions to succeed in science?
3. What is the proportion of females and minorities enrolled in advanced science classes?
4. Do teachers at different grade levels work together to clarify what ideas will be learned when?
5. Are students learning connected concepts rather than simply memorizing isolated facts, formulas, and technical terms?
6. Is the learning active and student-centered?
7. Do teachers welcome curiosity, reward creativity, and encourage healthy questioning?
8. Are teachers given encouragement, time, and resources to update their own skills and knowledge?
9. Do teachers look for and deal with students' misconceptions about how the world works?
10. Do teachers and school administrators use national or state standards as guidelines for improving student learning?

Interested in more? Check out these additional resources!

• Ten Questions to Ask Your School About Science Education
  http://www.project2061.org/newsinfo/research/questions/10questions.htm
  Find out more about why the ten questions above are important in this special article from Project 2061 of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
• What do Parents Need to Know to Get Involved?
  http://www.tryscience.org/parents/pdf/ehrparentpamphlet.pdf
  Prepared by the AAAS Education and Human Resources Directorate, "Science and Mathematics Education Reform: What Do Parents Need to Know to Get Involved?" is a 23-page booklet (available here as a PDF file) that makes a strong case for the importance of parental involvement. The report summarizes the findings of a series of focus groups and shows how parents feel about science education, and what teachers and schools can do to involve families in children's learning and success.
• Questions Parents Ask About Schools
  http://www.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/questions/index.html
  The U.S. Department of Education has a special section on "Questions Parents Ask About Schools;" this page deals specifically with how to work with schools and teachers.
• What Parents Can Do to Improve Their Children's Education
  http://www.nsta.org/parents
  The page on the National Science Teachers Association site features a page for parents on what they can do to further their children's education.