NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION INC
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Evolution and climate change are taught inconsistently in U.S. public schools, despite the fact that they are scientifically well-established and critically important. Direct efforts to interfere with the teaching of these topics occur regularly at the state and local level and include legislation that would allow or encourage teachers to misrepresent these areas of science as well as efforts to remove the topics, or water down their treatment, in science standards. In an NCSE 2019 national survey of 752 high school biology teachers, 5.6% taught creationism rather than evolution, 12% gave mixed messages, and 15% avoided teaching evolution; overall, 33% taught that evolution was not “settled science.” Direct and indirect attacks over the decades have contributed to a self-perpetuating cycle in which students, including future teachers, do not learn about the topics in ways that would address and resolve misconceptions.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Catalyzing Action
NCSE’s longest-tenured program, Catalyzing Action monitors state and local actions affecting science education and is the go-to source for the public generally, and the news media in particular, for up-to-date information on threats to the accurate teaching about evolution and climate change in public school classrooms.
NCSE has a long history and proven track record of success in helping students, parents, administrators, and concerned citizens by providing advice, resources, and connections.
Supporting Teachers
NCSE’s teacher support program’s professional-development-oriented approach ensure students receive accurate and effective climate change and evolution education. The program’s 47 Teacher Ambassadors are master teachers charged with helping to develop, field test, and then lead professional development through in-person and online workshops on climate change, evolution, and nature of science lessons and work in 28 states and Puerto Rico.
Breaking Down Barriers
Our outreach program offers science learning in communities with few opportunities to interact with science and scientists by offering free, hands-on, inquiry-based science activities. In its core project, NCSE recruits, trains, and supports graduate students in the sciences to undergo a rigorous curriculum to develop the skills and knowledge needed to create, facilitate, and market effective science outreach activities in their local communities.
Where we work
External reviews
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) promotes and defends accurate and effective science education, because everyone deserves to engage with the evidence. NCSE is a not-for-profit, membership organization that helps ensure students across the country receive an accurate and effective evolution and climate science education. We do this by supporting teachers with resources and best teaching practices; through community outreach led by dedicated volunteers delivering hands-on, engaging science activities; and by monitoring and mobilizing against efforts to undermine science education, whether at the statehouse or in the classroom. Our members are scientists, teachers, and citizens with diverse political affiliations.
Our vision is for every science teacher to teach evolution and climate change accurately and confidently. Teachers need to know how to handle the misconceptions and even hostility that students, parents, and community members may have about climate change and evolution. NCSE has nearly four decades of experience helping teachers get these concerns out of the way so that the science may be taught.
We want every teacher to respond effectively when societal controversy surrounding evolution and climate change emerges in their classrooms. Confidence comes directly from training in how to handle questions and doubts, and indirectly in knowing that their administrators and communities will have their backs when they teach these scientific topics forthrightly.
In the long run, we want to see a change in classroom practices so far fewer teachers present evolution and climate change as scientifically controversial and a greater percentage report teaching evolution and climate change in accordance with science standards and the recommendations of reputable scientific organizations such as the National Academy of Sciences.
NCSE works toward that vision with three distinct but complementary programs: Catalyzing Action (monitors threats to science education and informs the public through media coverage and supports local activists challenging those threats), Supporting Teachers (recruits and trains master teachers to share with their educator colleagues NCSE’s evolution, climate change and nature of science classroom lessons that help students overcome their misconceptions on those topics), and Breaking Down Barriers (through NCSE graduate student fellows, offers interactive and informative science activities in communities that have few opportunities to engage with science).
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
For nearly forty years, NCSE has helped local citizens oppose anti-science legislation, identify and block efforts to teach creationism or climate change denial in their local schools, and support the adoption of accurate science standards and textbooks.
We also work with teachers directly to help them improve their teaching practices by providing them with unique classroom lessons, training them to use the lessons, and offering them many other resources. Specifically, our Supporting Teacher Program has recruited and trained 46 Teacher Ambassadors in 28 states and Puerto Rico. They are master teachers charged with helping to develop, field test, and then lead professional development on climate change, evolution, and nature of science lessons.
Through volunteers and NCSE graduate student Fellows, we provide interactive science activities that help participants learn about evolution, climate change, and how science works in communities that have the least opportunities to engage with science.
We also help inform the public about the state of science education through articles and stories in traditional media, through our e-newsletter and 12-page print newsletter, and through social media platforms.
Finally, while organization like the Pew Research Center and AAAS conduct regular surveys to measure the population's understanding of science and acceptance of evolution and climate change, NCSE is unique in surveying what is actually going on in the classroom. In collaboration with the Pennsylvania State University Population Research Institute, we conduct regular surveys to gauge how evolution and climate change are being taught.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
NCSE has four decades of experience helping local citizens organize to block attacks on the integrity of science education and ensure that textbooks and science standards reflect established scientific understanding. We are the acknowledged expert in this specialized role, and often are a key source for media outlets covering science education. We have an excellent reputation in the scientific and education communities. Our staff, though small (10 people), has scientific expertise in evolution and climate change, unique expertise in how to deal with denial of established science, create classroom curriculum, and best practices for supporting and training science teachers.
More recently, we have worked to ensure science teachers have the resources and support they need to accurately and effectively teach on the topics of evolution and climate change.
We have longstanding ties to professional scientific societies, many of which, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Chemical Society, are formal supporting organizations. We also work closely with science teacher associations including the National Association of Biology Teachers and the National Science Teachers Association, and climate change education organizations such as the Alliance for Climate Education (ACE).
Finally, we have nearly 4,000 contributing members, who not only provide financial support, but act as our local eyes, ears, and hands in communities around the country.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
NCSE has successfully established itself as the pre-eminent source of advice on dealing with the impact of science denial or deflection in the classroom, especially with respect to evolution and increasingly with respect to climate change, which was added to NCSE's mandate in 2012.
The organization also has positively impacted how thousands of students learn about evolution and climate change because their teachers use NCSE’s unique and interactive lessons that help them overcome the misinformation they have about those topics.
And it has changed the way thousands of people of all ages perceive and experience science when they have engaged with NCSE’s Fellows and volunteers in science activities designed by NCSE to introduce scientific concepts in fun, accessible ways.
We plan to continue developing misconception-busting lessons and resources for educators to be used in the classroom or for remote learning while also creating new science activities for our community science engagement work. We also will continue to expand the number of communities where we have a presence across the country.
Also a sign of our success is the 6,000 subscribers to our teacher-oriented newsletter, NCSEteach, which has information, stories, and resources for science teachers. The organization primarily is supported by its 4,000 dues-paying members. Finally, we measure our success by the number of media contacts and published articles and stories aired that feature NCSE staff and information provided to reporters.
Financials
Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more
about GuideStar Pro.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION INC
Board of directorsas of 04/11/2023
Ken Miller
Michael Haas
Ben Santer
Ken Miller
Naomi Oreskes
Vicki Chandler
Michael Lubic
Michael Mann
Sarah George
Ann Reid
Maya Garcia
Joe Graves
Jo Handelsman
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
-
Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
No data
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data