The Arizona Department of Education has extended the comment period for the proposed Science Standards until 12 Noon on Thursday, May 31, 2018. The original deadline was 12 midnight on Monday, May 28, 2018.
Over the Memorial Day weekend, the standards web page experienced intermittent technical difficulties that prevented comment. However, those wishing to comment were able to leave comments on the K-12 Standards Feedback page.
“Due to the antiquated IT system the Department is forced to operate under, our comments survey experienced technical difficulties that did not allow Arizonans to leave their comment. We do not have the resources to have twenty-four seven monitoring of that web page, especially on a holiday weekend. I apologize for any inconvenience this caused,” said Superintendent Diane Douglas. “I am committed to ensuring Arizonans have an opportunity to weigh in on proposed standards. For this reason, we are extending the comment period for the proposed Science Standards until Noon on Thursday.”
News outlets ignored the option of posting comments on the K-12 Standards Feedback page and blasted Douglas for the service failure, implying that the Department was preventing the public from commenting.
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News outlets reported that Douglas had sought to remove evolution from the standards and add the concept of “Intelligent Design.” Contrary to those reports, evolution remained in the Arizona Science Standards’ core ideas, and in grades 4, 5, 7, 8, and high school L4 essential and plus standards.
Draft changes included:
L4: The theory of evolution seeks to make clear the unity and diversity of organisms, living and extinct, is the result of evolution organisms.
Over countless generations changes resulting from natural diversity within a species are believed to lead to the selection of those individuals best suited to survive under certain conditions. Species not able to respond sufficiently to changes in their environment become extinct.
4.L4U2.11: Analyze and interpret environmental data that demonstrate that species either adapt and survive or go extinct over time.
5.L3U2.10: Construct an explanation based on evidence that changes in an environment can affect the development of the traits in a population of organisms.
8.L4U2.11: Develop and use a model to explain how natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations over time.
8.L4U2.12: Gather and communicate evidence on how the process of natural selection provides an explanation of how new species can evolve the processes by which a species may change over time in response to environmental conditions.
HS.L4U2.31: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate evidence that describes how inherited traits in a population can lead to evolution biological diversity.
HS+B.L4U1.19: Construct an explanation based on evidence that the process of evolution may result from natural selection.
HS+B.L4U2.20: Gather, evaluate, and communicate multiple lines of empirical evidence to explain the mechanisms of biological evolution change in genetic composition of a population over successive generations.
HS+E.E2U1.20: Analyze how the nebular theory explains solar system formation with distinct regions characterized by different types of planetary and other bodies.
From the ADE:
Those wishing to review he proposed Science Standards can do so at:
http://www.azed.gov/standards-practices/k-12standards/k12engagement/az_sci_ss_standards-review/
Comments can be made at:
http://www10.ade.az.gov/SelectSurveyNET/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=92M155l2
If you experience difficulties connecting to the comments survey, you can send your comments by email at:
http://www.azed.gov/standards-practices/k-12standards/k12engagement/k-12-standards-feedback/