Kentucky lawmakers shocked to find evolution in biology tests

Oh dear.

A report surfaced this week that suggests Kentucky legislators may be experiencing a sort of cognitive dissonance that is likely to be a preview of things we can expect elsewhere. After dictating that schools in the state include tests based on national standards, the state lawmakers were shocked to find that evolution made a prominent appearance on the science tests. The same legislative body was considering undercutting evolution less than two years ago, so this may have come as a bit of a surprise.

It really shouldn't have.

Nationally, the No Child Left Behind Act has dictated that there needs to be standards for educational performance, and standardized tests will be used to make sure those standards are met. Although that push started with basics like math and language, national science standards were also called for. Many states have since implemented them; the Kentucky legislature apparently adopted the national standards in 2009. ACT, a company that creates and manages standardized testing, was contracted to handle the science tests.

Given that evolution is extremely well supported and provides the central organizing idea of biology, ACT's tests featured it heavily. That made a number of the state legislators rather unhappy, and gave them the chance to demonstrate that they should not be setting education policy.

"I would hope that creationism is presented as a theory in the classroom, in a science classroom, alongside evolution," the Lexington Herald-Leader quotes Senator David Givens as saying. Givens is apparently unaware that creationism is not a theory, and that the Supreme Court has ruled that teaching it is a violation of the establishment clause.

The same report quotes Representative Ben Waide, who demonstrated his lack of scientific knowledge by saying, "The theory of evolution is a theory, and essentially the theory of evolution is not science—Darwin made it up." Waide went on to say that "Under the most rudimentary, basic scientific examination, the theory of evolution has never stood up to scientific scrutiny."

The legislators apparently asked ACT whether it could create a Kentucky-specific version of the test; one that, presumably, would be a sort of formal recognition of the state's distaste for mainstream science. They were told, however, that doing so would be prohibitively expensive.

Kentucky is hardly the only state that has issues with evolution, though. Both Louisiana and Tennessee have passed laws that specifically target the teaching of evolution. These state-level efforts, however, are now running up against national science standards that accurately depict evolution's status as a well-supported scientific theory. Kentucky will certainly not be the last state where the conflict between local desires and national standards ends up creating problems.

Makes you wonder and worry that some state legislators would try to ban boards like this that generally support the concept and reality of evolution in life sciences.
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Bob DeWoody

It never ceases to amaze me how much people are willing to put their heads in the sand. Take for example, the melting of the polar ice caps. How long before we're ready to admit that we have adversely affected the environment?

These dolts in Kentucky should be worried about much bigger things than evolution; it's called devolution.
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Is there anybody out there?
HSG - the IT Training Co.

I'm less worried about the ice caps melting, that's just the planet returning to normal after the last ice age. Having ice caps is an unusual state for the planet, whatever the eco-mentalists will tell you.
Yes it's a bit of a bummer if you live in Bangladesh or Holland, but the sea level isn't going to rise overnight, we'll have several decades to retreat inland.
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Chemists have all the solutions!

Skype me: simonator### (one zero one)

It's pretty sad. The general population won't actually give it any attention until it's plain to see, and then....PANIC!
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I live 1028 feet above sea level, excuse me while i don't panic.
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Chemists have all the solutions!

Skype me: simonator### (one zero one)

Well it is amazing that world's leading scientific nation is turning also leading religious extremist nation. I do not understand that now western europe largely turning into non religious civilization whilst their spawned new world is heading to the opposite direction.
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Mandtugai!

It's quite easy to understand. Each and every European country got tired of their overly conservative and extremist religions and pushed them out. Most floated around europe until they were forced into leaving the continent altogether. Thus, you see, the US was founded by religious extremists.

This also explains why Americans have such a hard time with nudity and sex. Not all of us of course but the extremes certainly do. Any European coming to America would be shocked that there was no nudity anywhere(the net being the exception) No magazine ads, no television ads, Nads no where.

I was impressed, when I went to Germany as a 20 year old, to discover that they are quite liberated over there.
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Proud member of TSWB.

End terrorism by building a school

Nudity is like money. The more there is the less it is worth.
Tullio
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It's quite easy to understand. Each and every European country got tired of their overly conservative and extremist religions and pushed them out. Most floated around europe until they were forced into leaving the continent altogether. Thus, you see, the US was founded by religious extremists.

This also explains why Americans have such a hard time with nudity and sex. Not all of us of course but the extremes certainly do. Any European coming to America would be shocked that there was no nudity anywhere(the net being the exception) No magazine ads, no television ads, Nads no where.

I was impressed, when I went to Germany as a 20 year old, to discover that they are quite liberated over there.

It seems Bill Nye agrees, and who dare disagree with him?

Bill Nye: Creationism Is Not Appropriate For Children
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Chemists have all the solutions!

Skype me: simonator### (one zero one)