Science Fairs See Fewer Entrants

ORLANDO - Science fairs used to be big deals - competitions that exercised critical-thinking, research and public speaking.

It's also a blast to set off papier-mche volcanoes and grow tiny Sea-Monkeys.

But participation in county science fairs has dropped dramatically among Florida high-school students - ironically, at the same time the state has ordered teachers to focus more intensely on biology, chemistry and other sciences.

The new science portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, in fact, is helping fuel the trend because teachers and students are so occupied with the FCAT they don't spend as much time and effort on science fairs, many educators say.

"It doesn't free them up for sustained inquiry or creativity," said Dan McFarland, a past president of the Florida Association of Science Teachers.

For example, 97 teens from seven Orange County high schools entered projects in the regional fair. That's 40 percent fewer than last year. Entries fell nearly as much in nearby Volusia County, organizers said. And in Seminole County, only two of 10 public high schools signed up. Of the two Seminole schools, one submitted just one project.

The downturn in science fairs elsewhere in the region is part of a trend - some say a national one - that started years ago, educators said. It's particularly troubling, they said, considering the nation is in dire need of chemists, engineers and others to replace those retiring en masse from science-heavy careers.

McFarland, a Plant City teacher, said high-school kids just aren't getting involved thanks in part to jobs, other academic pressures and the FCAT's science section.

Students have sat for the FCAT in reading, writing and math since 1998. Science was added in 2003, and scores to date have been dismal. This year's scores, for the first time, will be used to determine grades for schools.

McFarland said teachers are so focused on required classwork that many no longer force students to participate in science fairs. Teens don't have the same freedom to explore and inquire, which is key to building science skills.

Educators also blamed the drop in interest on competition with other contests that draw young science whizzes - for example, robotics competitions, the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search and Odyssey of the Mind.

Lake County science specialist Claudia Rowe said changes in the rules for science projects in recent years have discouraged students, too. The main complaint: paperwork.

"Instead of it being a fun thing to learn, it's become more of a paperwork thing and jumping through hoops," Rowe said.

Some educators think tough standards encourage only the smartest students - the ones who already spend weekends and summers working in cancer labs and university research institutes. That leaves a lot of students feeling as if they can't compete.

Pine Ridge High School in Volusia stopped requiring science projects several years ago and, instead, let teens do research and share it with classmates instead of judges.

"If they have no desire at all and no interest, all you're forcing them to do is as little as necessary to get that grade," said Linda Gowen, who heads Pine Ridge's science department.

Projects are not required for all kids at Deltona High in Volusia. Parent Colleen Maguire worries her daughter and her peers are missing a chance to develop important organization and communication skills.

"The teachers hate it, and they actually put that attitude onto the students," she said. "I just think it's a shame it has become that kind of a problem."

Experts across the country said no studies exist and no one collects data for science-fair participation.

But Anne Holbrook, a University of Maryland professor who teaches educators how to teach science, said based on many anecdotes, it appears to be a national problem. She thinks the problem is the national push for tests such as the FCAT. She said schools need to do a better job integrating science into other classes.

Suzy Behel, who arranges Seminole's fair, said kids need more time for research during the school day.

Of the 54 projects entered at a recent science fair there, Lake Brantley High, which offers a research class as an elective, submitted 49. The number of Lake Brantley students signing up also has grown in recent years.

Behel said the class helps students find mentors and coordinates entry into summer research programs.

That emphasis on in-school research is why science fairs thrive in Brevard, organizer Ginger Davis said.

Brevard students in grades seven to 12 can take classes specifically to conduct research. The course is so popular that students wash cars and do other fundraisers to help buy chemicals and equipment.

About 900 middle- and high-school students entered projects this year. The fair was so big that it had to be split between two locations.

Volusia officials said competitions apart from science fairs are challenging students in different ways.

"I think science fairs are still a part of American culture," said Teresa Northrup, Volusia's science specialist. "It's just a different way of approaching it.

"Sometimes, students get tired of the standard science-fair board. They might want to go to a competition with somebody else racing a car, building a bridge, or maybe they would rather solve a problem on the Internet."