Tuesday, October 16, 2012

An Emporia State University biology professor says proposed science standards under consideration for Kansas public schools aren't rigorous enough.

Professor John Richard Schrock said Tuesday the proposed standards don't have enough material on such subjects as botany, zoology and microbiology. Schrock says those subjects will get shorted in classrooms if the proposed standards are adopted.

Kansas is working with 25 other states and the National Research Council on common standards for possible adoption in their public schools.

The State Board of Education was hearing an update Tuesday from the Kansas official overseeing work on the standards and from a member of the state's standards-writing committee.

A draft of the proposed standards was released in May and another is expected next month.