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1. Certification Requirements

A. Grades 9-12

1. Total number of 9-12 teachers with main assignment in science: 2,913
2. Total number of science teachers in grades 9-12 with an Earth science assignment:  N/A
3. Percentage of 9-12 science teachers with an Earth science certification: N/A
4. Specific licensure requirements for secondary teachers: Specific min. number of units in subject area taught, specifies components in program; major required.

B. Grades 6-8

1. Total number of teachers in grades 7-8 with a main assignment in science:1,980
2. Total number of grades 7-8 science teachers in all assignments: 2,125
3. Percentage of middle grade science teachers certified in science: 14%
4. Specific licensure requirements for middle school teachers: Specific min. number of units in subject area taught, specifies components in program; major required.

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2. Course Requirements

A. Grades 9-12

1. Number of science credits required for high school graduation: 4
2. Required science courses: Biology is the required course. Students may select between physical science or physics for their second science. Students may select between chemistry, earth systems or environmental science for their third science. The fourth science could be any other science or a CTAE course approved to be used as a science course. Any appropriate AP/IB science course may be used to satisfy the requirements as well.
3. Is an Earth science course included in the recommended high school science curriculum? Yes.
4. Is Earth science part of another course required for high school graduation? No, Earth science (actually called Earth systems to differentiate from the middle school Earth science course) is its own course.
5. If Earth science is taken, does it count towards graduation requirements?  Yes.
6. Is an Environmental science course included in the recommended high school science curriculum? Yes.
7. Is Environmental science part of another course required for high school graduation? No.
8.  If Environmental science is taken, does it count towards graduation requirements?   Yes. 

B. Grades 6-8

1. Is Earth Science part of the middle school science curriculum (grades 6-8)?  Yes.
2. Is it taught as a full year curriculum or an integrated curriculum?  Full Year. 
3. At what grade level(s) is Earth science taught? 6th.

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3. K-12 Enrollment

A. Student Enrollment: 2004-2005 School Year

Grades	K-12	K-5	6-8	9-12
Students	1,515,646	712,668	367,920	435,058

B. Percent of Grade 9 students enrolled in selected courses

Course	Earth science	Chemistry	Biology	Physics
Percent	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available

C. Enrollment trends in Grade 9 Earth science

Year	Percent	Students
1996-97	Not Available	Not Available
1997-98	Not Available	Not Available
1999-00	Not Available	Not Available
2003-04	Not Available	Not Available

D. Students in grades 7-8 enrolled in selected science courses

	1999-2000	2003-2004
Course	Students (Percentage)	Students (Percentage)
Earth Science	Not Available (Not Available)	Not Available (Not Available)
General Science	Not Available (Not Available)	Not Available (Not Available)
Physical Science	Not Available (Not Available)	Not Available (Not Available)
Life Science	Not Available (Not Available)	Not Available (Not Available)
Integrated or Coordinated Science	Not Available (Not Available)	Not Available (Not Available)

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4. K-12 Indicators

	State	National
Average Freshman Graduation Rate	62.4%	73.2%
College Enrollment Rate	68.6%	68.6%
AP Participation Rate	30.3%	25%

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5. Science Standards

• Standards Publication: Georgia Performance Standards
• Year in which science standards were adopted: 2006
• Are state standards determined at the district level? No, districts write their own standards and use the state standards as a guideline.
• When will the state standards be revised?  2009

The National Science Education Standards outline the concepts and principles that students should understand about Earth and space science. At the middle school level, the standards are divided into three areas: Structure of the Earth System, Earth’s History, and Earth in the Solar System. At the high school level, the standards are divided into four areas: Energy in the Earth System, Geochemical Cycles, Origin and Evolution of the Earth System, and Origin and Evolution of the Universe. For the AGI Report, the Earth science standards for each state were reviewed to determine whether they incorporate the concepts and principles outlined in the National Science Education Standards.

A. Do the state standards for grades 9-12 contain principles and concepts related to:

Energy in the Earth system?  Yes	Origin and evolution of the Earth system? Yes
Geochemical cycles? Yes	Origin and evolution of the universe? Yes

B. Do the state standards for grades 9-12 include environmental science concepts?
Yes.  These are included in Biology, Earth Systems, Environmental Systems, Ecology, Geology, Zoology, Botany, and Entomology.

C. Do the state standards for grades 5-8 contain principles and concepts related to:

Structure of the Earth system? Yes	Earth in the Solar System? Yes
Earth’s history? Yes

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6. Testing and Assessment

A. State Science Tests

Test	Grade Levels Tested:	Earth Science Component on the Test?
Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT)	3, 4, 5, 6, 7	3-5 Earth, physical and life science. 6 astronomy, hydrology and meteorology, geology.

B. State High School Exit Exam

1. Name of Exam: Georgia High School Graduation Tests
2. Type of Test: Standards based
3. Does the exam have a science component? Yes. Physical science and biology
4. At what grade do students first take the exam? 11
5. Is passing the exam a requirement for a diploma? Yes.
6. Does the exam have an Earth science component? No.

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7. Textbook Adoptions

• Does the state select or recommend textbooks? Selects and Recommends. Districts select books. State makes preliminary recommendations.
• Earth science textbook(s)/program(s) used in the state at the high school level: It's About Time: EarthComm; Glencoe: Earth Science; Glencoe: The Environment and the Universe; Holt: Modern Earth Science.
• Environmental science textbook(s)/program(s) used in the state at the high school level: Amsco School Publishing, Inc: Environmental Science; J.M. LeBel Enterprises: Environmental Science.
• Earth science textbook(s)/program(s) used in the state at the middle school level:  It's About Time: Investigating Earth Systems; FOSS: Environments Module; FOSS Landforms Module; GEMS: Environmental Detecting; Person Education, Inc: Concepts and Challenges: Earth Science; Prentice Hall: Science Explorer: Earth Science; Holt: Science and Technology: Earth Science.

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8. Undergraduate Education

Students Graduating with an Associates Degree

Physical Sciences	Geosciences	Life Sciences	Natural and Physical Sciences	Science and Engineering Technologies
4	N/A	1,225	N/A	1,246

Students Graduating with a Bachelor's Degree

Physical Sciences	Geosciences	Life Sciences	Natural and Physical Sciences	Science and Engineering Technologies
466	50	4,302	4,818	952

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9. Graduate Education

Students Graduating with a Master's Degree

Physical Sciences	Geosciences	Life Sciences	Natural and Physical Sciences	Science and Engineering Technologies
87	15	1,369	1,471	192

Students Graduating with a Doctorate Degree

Physical Sciences	Geosciences	Life Sciences	Natural and Physical Sciences	Science and Engineering Technologies
124	17	296	437	N/A

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10. State Contact Person

Juan-Carlos Aguilar	Science Program Manager
Georgia Department of Education 1754 Twin Towers East Atlanta, GA 30334	jaguilar@doe.k12.ga.us 404-516-1089

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