Meanwhile, in Urban Ecology Programs in Other Cities...

The University of Michigan's Museum of Zoology's and School of Education's BioKids program- now in its fifth and final year- has helped more Detroit students pass the State of Michigan's science standardized tests. While 66% of students statewide pass the science test, just 30% pass in Detroit. 42% of the students in the BioKids program passed the standardized test in science, which is quite a significant leap. Just one question, though, for U-M, NSF and other funders of this program: Why is this successful program being shut down after five years?

Excerpt:
"[Nancy Butler] Songer testified before Congress earlier this year on the value of the U-M project as officials debated whether to slash support for science education by as much as 46 percent. In his 2006 State of the Union Tuesday, President Bush proposed an 'American Competitiveness Initiative' to greatly increase support for science and math education.

"U-M studies have followed the knowledge development of BioKIDS participants, finding they have nearly three times the average poverty rate of other students in Michigan, Seventy percent of the students receive a free/reduced lunch as compared to 26.7 percent state average, and 94 percent are minorities. But the improvements in their science skills after a year in the program were dramatic."

Sometimes I hate it when I answer my own questions.