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A Review of High School Physics Education in the United States of America

Received: 10 September 2015    Accepted: 4 November 2015    Published: 24 November 2015
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Abstract

Physics is often considered to be one of the most difficult subjects to study. Thus, it is particularly important to have good physics teachers to teach the subject. However, a close look at the statistical data indicates that about 67% of high school physics teachers did not major in physics. Physics is being taught by teachers that are in variety of subjects, mostly another science and math. In addition, two-third of the 27,000 physics teachers teach other subjects than physics. Quantitative/Qualitative assessments and reasoning are made about the statistical data. Potential reasons for the current statistics and consequences are discussed. In addition, lack of mathematics background in the freshman and sophomore years of high school appears to push the physics classes towards junior and senior years, taken as an elective, or not taken at all. High school curriculum, teacher training and salary issues are also discussed.

Published in Science Journal of Education (Volume 3, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.sjedu.20150306.12
Page(s) 126-130
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Physics Education, High School Physics Education, Science Education, Physics Teachers

References
[1] Paula Heron and David Meltzer, “The Future of Physics Education Research: Intellectual Challenges and Practical Concerns,” Am. J. Phys. 73 (5), 390-394 (2005)
[2] David Hammer, “Student Resources for Learning Introductory Physics,” Am. J. Phys. 68 (S1), S52-S59 (2000)
[3] Jonathan Tuminaro and Edward F. Redish, “Elements of a Cognitive Model of Physics Problem Solving: Epistemic Games,” Phys. Rev. ST PER 3 (2007)
[4] Young-Jin Lee, David J. Palazzo, Rasil Warnakulasooriya, and David E. Pritchard, “Measuring Student Learning with Item Response Theory,” Phys. Rev. ST PER4 (1), 010102 (2008); Lei Bao and Edward F. Redish, “Model Analysis: Representing and Assessing the Dynamics of Student Learning,” Phys. Rev. ST PER 2 (010103), 16 (2006)
[5] Rosemary Russ, Rachel Scherr, David Hammer, and Jamie Mikeska, “Recognizing Mechanistic Reasoning in Student Scientific Inquiry: A Framework for Discourse Analysis Developed from Philosophy of Science,” Sci. Ed. 92, 499-525 (2008)
[6] Chandralekha Singh, “Assessing Student Expertise in Introductory Physics with Isomorphic Problems. I. Performance on Nonintuitive Problem Pair from Introductory Physics,” Phys. Rev. ST PER 4 (1), 010104 (2008)
[7] American Institute of Physics, focus on, December 2014 issue, https://www.aip.org/sites/default/files/statistics/highschool/hs-whoteaches-13.pdf
[8] Jason G. Hill and Kerry J. Gruber, Education and Certification Qualifications of Departmentalized Public High School-Level Teachers of Core Subjects: Evidence from the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey, Statistical Analysis Report [NCES 2011-317] (National Center For Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C., 2011). Available at: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2011/2011317.pdf
[9] http://www.phystec.org/phystec/webdocs/status/aip_careerpaths.pdf
[10] National Center for Education Statistics, http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=97
[11] http://web.calstatela.edu/faculty/sfelsze/CSULA_Calculus_Reform.pdf
[12] Private communications with high school teachers and administrators
[13] The New York Times, “When Science Suddenly Mattered, in Space and in Class”, Cornelia Dean, 2007, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/25/science/space/25educ.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
[14] Nova, “Sputnik’s Impact on America”, Paul Dickson, 2007 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/space/sputnik-impact-on-america.html
[15] http://www.aps.org/programs/education/statistics/citizenship.cfm
[16] National Public Radio (NPR), “U.S. Students Slide In Global Ranking On Math, Reading, Science”, Bill Chappell, 2013, http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/12/03/248329823/u-s-high-school-students-slide-in-math-reading-science
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  • APA Style

    Serif Uran. (2015). A Review of High School Physics Education in the United States of America. Science Journal of Education, 3(6), 126-130. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20150306.12

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    ACS Style

    Serif Uran. A Review of High School Physics Education in the United States of America. Sci. J. Educ. 2015, 3(6), 126-130. doi: 10.11648/j.sjedu.20150306.12

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    AMA Style

    Serif Uran. A Review of High School Physics Education in the United States of America. Sci J Educ. 2015;3(6):126-130. doi: 10.11648/j.sjedu.20150306.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.sjedu.20150306.12,
      author = {Serif Uran},
      title = {A Review of High School Physics Education in the United States of America},
      journal = {Science Journal of Education},
      volume = {3},
      number = {6},
      pages = {126-130},
      doi = {10.11648/j.sjedu.20150306.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20150306.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjedu.20150306.12},
      abstract = {Physics is often considered to be one of the most difficult subjects to study. Thus, it is particularly important to have good physics teachers to teach the subject. However, a close look at the statistical data indicates that about 67% of high school physics teachers did not major in physics. Physics is being taught by teachers that are in variety of subjects, mostly another science and math. In addition, two-third of the 27,000 physics teachers teach other subjects than physics. Quantitative/Qualitative assessments and reasoning are made about the statistical data. Potential reasons for the current statistics and consequences are discussed. In addition, lack of mathematics background in the freshman and sophomore years of high school appears to push the physics classes towards junior and senior years, taken as an elective, or not taken at all. High school curriculum, teacher training and salary issues are also discussed.},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

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    AB  - Physics is often considered to be one of the most difficult subjects to study. Thus, it is particularly important to have good physics teachers to teach the subject. However, a close look at the statistical data indicates that about 67% of high school physics teachers did not major in physics. Physics is being taught by teachers that are in variety of subjects, mostly another science and math. In addition, two-third of the 27,000 physics teachers teach other subjects than physics. Quantitative/Qualitative assessments and reasoning are made about the statistical data. Potential reasons for the current statistics and consequences are discussed. In addition, lack of mathematics background in the freshman and sophomore years of high school appears to push the physics classes towards junior and senior years, taken as an elective, or not taken at all. High school curriculum, teacher training and salary issues are also discussed.
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Author Information
  • Department of Physics, Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, KS

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