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In the summer of 2000, the proposed Pennsylvania Science and Technology Academic Standards were used to develop this set of K-12 benchmarks. The development process engaged educators from several different school entities including teachers from Berks, Chester and York Counties; professors from higher education; curriculum staff from Berks and Northeast Intermediate Units; PDE personnel; and consultants. Participants in the project prepared for the benchmarkwriting task by becoming familiar with the skills and knowledge required in the state documents. They also and reviewed textbooks, curriculum guides, national content standards, standards from other states and benchmarks created by the Allentown School District. Using the information gleaned from these documents, draft benchmarks were "back-mapped" from the Pennsylvania proposed standards.
The editing and review process included an examination by the development team for sequence and fluency across grades. The initial drafts also were compared with recommendations from research regarding best practices and developmental appropriateness. Last, content area experts reviewed the documents for accuracy.
Although the benchmarks have been presented in a linear format for ease of publication, it is the belief of the development team that they should be taught in an integrated manner. The attached graphic (see Figure One) illustrates one vision for integration. The science content areas, 3.3 Biological, 3.4 Physical, Chemistry and Physics and 3.5 Earth Sciences are shown as the framework or "pillars" of the visual. The interwoven technology standards (3.6, 3.7 and 3.8) are represented as "threads" through the three content areas, suggesting they are most meaningful when imbedded in the content areas. Inquiry and Design, Standard 3.2, is the foundation upon which the standards reside because it is the belief of the development team that inquiry should be part of all scientific study. The final standard, 3.1 Unifying Themes, completes the visual by providing a thematic framework for connecting the Science and Technology Standards to each other and to all other content areas. A Correlation Matrix (Figure Two) is included to assist districts in establishing a correlation among the Unifying Themes and the additional standards.
These benchmarks will be used as the basis for developing standards-based performance tasks; reviewing district curricula at various grade levels; creating awareness by teachers of the tasks required of students above and below their grade level and writing Individual Education Plans (IEPs) for special education students. In addition, they will be used in the development of units that integrate science and technology with math and language arts standards.
Although these documents have been through several revisions and edits, they are considered a work in progress. It is expected that as teachers and administrators integrate the benchmarks into their curriculum, there will be modifications and adaptations. Modifications also may be necessary when the science and technology standards receive final approval by the state. It should be noted that these documents are only one conceptualization of how Pennsylvania's Proposed Standards could be distributed across the K-12 grade levels. Educators using this work are encouraged to peruse its contents and utilize what is helpful to their setting.
