'Florida Math and Science Day' highlights subjects vital to state

May 3 was Florida Math and Science Day, and this year’s theme was severe weather and emergency preparedness. Although meteorology can be a tricky business in Florida, the forecast for that day was a pretty sure bet: partly sunny in math and science classrooms statewide.

The third annual event, organized by the Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (FCR-STEM) at The Florida State University, was observed in K-12 classrooms from Pensacola to Miami. While the day focused the spotlight on two subjects key to student success and innovation, it also highlighted the status of math and science education in Florida schools: a mix of sunny and overcast.

“The good news is that science and math FCAT scores have been improving for Florida students,” said Laura Lang, director of Florida State’s Learning Systems Institute, which is home to FCR-STEM.

The not-so-good news? Fewer than half of Florida students perform at or above grade level in science, according to 2009 FCAT results. And as students progress in school, their performance gets worse: While 46 percent of students performed at or above grade level in fifth grade, by 11th grade that figure had fallen to 37 percent. The outlook is somewhat better in math classrooms, with from 55 percent to 78 percent performing at or above grade level. Still, those numbers leave many students struggling.

“Proficiency in math and science are increasingly critical in the workplace,” Lang said. “Teaching them well leads to more innovation, better employees and better jobs, which in turn lead to improved quality of life and a more robust economy.”

While researchers work to shed light on what methods, curricula and professional development strategies increase student performance, teachers on the front lines are trying to get students excited about math and science. That’s where it is hoped that Math and Science Day can lend support and resources.

To help teachers develop lesson plans for the day, FCR-STEM highlighted weather-related teaching resources freely available through CPALMS, a Web system developed by FCR-STEM that provides easy access to instructional resources aligned with Florida-specific science and math standards. Students used graphs to track the development of a hurricane, for example, or watch a NASA video on the science behind the record-breaking 2005 hurricane season.

In addition to FCR-STEM, 2010 Florida Math and Science Day was sponsored by the Florida Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the Florida Mathematics Presidential Awardees Association, the Florida Association of Mathematics Supervisors, the Florida Association of Science Supervisors, and the Office of Math and Science at the Florida Department of Education.

For more information, visit www.floridastandards.org or send an e-mail to mathandscience@lsi.fsu.edu.