Effects of COVID-19 on Science Education in California

An educational leader with over three decades of experience as a teacher, department chair, and district mentor, Mary E. Streshly serves as the senior advisor and acting executive director of Oakland Military Institute College Prep Academy. Mary Streshly has been instrumental in driving improvements in academic achievement measures through her focus on science.

According to data collected by the Public Policy Institute of California, the COVID-19 pandemic has limited the efficacy of science education in California. Upon the emergence of the pandemic, science transitioned into a lower priority as many districts dedicated more of their resources to English language arts in the 2020–21 school year. School districts faced staff shortages, a lack of dedicated funding, and a litany of teacher burnout in the wake of the pandemic. Only 25 percent of surveyed school districts offered extended science learning programs in that school year.

The California Next Generation Science Standards (CA NGSS) implementation activities also plummeted in the referenced period, with delays in course model alignment and textbook adoption. The CA NGSS is a set of standards that regulates the curriculum of science subjects taught in school districts. The sole purpose of the CA NGSS is to ensure that schools teach relevant and essential science topics that match the requirements of each grade.