Pupils Must Look Away to Think
BBC AMERICA, January 11--Pupils should be encouraged to look away from their teacher when answering a question, scientists have found. Far from daydreaming, children who avert their gaze when considering their response to a question are more likely to come up with the correct answer. full story

NSTA President Endorses Lesson Study
NSTA, January 10th-In keeping with my presidential theme of promoting international science education, I want to focus on a type of inservice program I observed recently in Japan called lesson study. All of the teachers in an elementary school I visited collaborated to plan and teach a lesson, then evaluated what happened. What amazed me was not the fact that the teachers were involved in high-quality professional development—that happens nationwide and worldwide. What struck me was that the teachers made all the decisions about what they were going to study and how they were going to do so. full story

Another Year of Gains for Native Students on SAT
iindianz.com, August 31st-For yet another year, Native American students registered big gains on the Scholastic Aptitude Test, based on figures released on Tuesday.
American Indian and Alaska Native students, in fact, registered the largest point gain on the verbal portion of the test. In 2005, Native student scored an average of 489 on the test, a 6-point increase from 2004. full story

Wyoming Recieves an "F" for Science Standards
WASHINGTON, December 7-Nearly half of the fifty states received grades of "D" or "F" in a new review of statewide academic standards for primary-secondary school science, according to the distinguished scientists who conducted that appraisal. full story Wyoming's Report Card

Schools Cut Back Subjects to Push Reading and Math
SACRAMENTO, March 26th--Thousands of schools across the nation are responding to the reading and math testing requirements laid out in No Child Left Behind, President Bush's signature education law, by reducing class time spent on other subjects and, for some low-proficiency students, eliminating it. full story

House Science Committee Introduces Science and Math Education Bill
WASHINGTON DC, May 11th--The House Science Committee introduced three bills aimed to strengthen science and math education by bolstering programs at the National Science Foundation (NSF). full story