NSES

Since the release of the National Science Education Standards, teachers have been looking for curriculum resources that incorporate these new standards. Numerous Science Olympiad events have been used by the National Science Education Standards to illustrate standards in action.

Science Olympiad illustrates the close relationship between teaching and assessment. The assessment tasks are developmentally appropriate for young children, including recognition of students’ physical skills and cognitive abilities. As students move from station to station displaying their understanding and ability in science, members of the community (leaders from government, business and industry, professors, scientist, educators, etc.) evaluate the students’ science achievement and can observe that the students have had an opportunity to learn science. Science Olympiad highlights many of the elements of the Teaching Standards, Assessment Standards, Program Standards and Science Education System Standards. The letters below refer to the specific standards that apply to Science Olympiad.

A:  Teachers of science plan an inquiry-based science program for their students.
C:  Teachers of science engage in ongoing assessment of their teaching and of student learning.
D:  Teachers of science design and manage learning environments that provide students with the time, space and resources needed for learning science.

A:  Assessments must be consistent with the decisions they are designed to inform.
B:  Achievement and opportunity to learn science must be stressed.
C:  The technical quality of the data collected is well matched to the decisions and actions taken on the basis of their interpretation.
E:  The inferences made from assessments about student achievement and opportunity to learn must be sound.

D: The K-12 science education program must give students access to appropriate and sufficient resources, including quality teachers, time, materials and equipment, adequate and safe space and the community.
F: Schools must work as communities that encourage, support and sustain teachers as they implement and effective science program.

D: Policies must be supported with resources.
G: Responsible individuals must take the opportunity afforded by the standards-based reform movement to achieve the new vision of science education portrayed in the Standards.

NATIONAL SCIENCE EDUCATION STANDARDS
	CONCEPTS	INQUIRY	PHYSICAL	LIFE	EARTH	TECH	PER/SOC	HIST/NAT
A for Anatomy	■	■		■			■
Amphibians & Reptiles	■	■		■			■	■
Astronomy	■	■	■	■	■	■	■	■
Balloon Launch Glider	■	■	■			■
Boomilever	■	■	■			■
Cell Biology	■	■		■			●
Chem Lab	■	●	■			▲		●
Circuit Lab	■	■	■
Crave The Wave	■	■	■		■
Disease Detectives	■	■		■		■	■	■
Ecology	■	■		■			■	■
Electric Buggy	■	■	■
Experimental Design	■	■	●				■
Fermi Questions	■	■	■			■
Five Star Science	■		■	■	■	■
Food Science	■	●	■			▲		●
Forensics	■	■	■				●
Health Science	■	■		■			■
Junkyard Wars	■	■	■			■
Meteorology	■	■		■	■		■
Metric Mastery	■	■	▲			■
Mystery Architecture	■	■	■					■
Oceanography	■	■	■	■	■	■	■	■
Physics Lab	■	■	■
Reach for the Stars	■	■	■		■	■	■	■
Remote Sensing	■	■		■	■		■
Road Scholar	■	▲			■
Robot Ramble	■	■	■			■		■
Rocks and Minerals	■	■			■			■
Science Crime Busters	■	■	■	■	<