Secondary school physics in Arizona--a comparison of characteristics affecting opportunity and enrollment

In the last decade a growing concern over the quality, structure, and practice of physics education in the secondary schools has reached critical levels. The present study was an effort to record and analyze what was happening in the physics classrooms of the public schools of Arizona during school year 1988-89. A questionnaire designed to elicit responses which would describe Arizona physics teaching was sent to each physics teacher in the state. The results were reported in four different areas: opportunity for students to enroll in a physics class; enrollment, with comparisons of various school, teacher, and student characteristics which may have affected the level of enrollment; certification and qualification status of the teachers of physics; and enrollment enhancement techniques. A hierarchical model was developed to differentiate the levels of physics literacy. With this model it was found that physics was offered in secondary schools on four different levels, ranging from technology-based physics to calculus-based Advanced Placement Physics C. At least one course in physics was offered by 80.6 percent of the high schools in 1988-89. Those schools served 93.8 percent of the students. When accounting was done for those schools which offer physics every other year, 96.1 percent of the students could enroll in physics during their high school years. However, only 15.7 percent of them did so, compared to an estimated 20 percent nationally. Factors which may make a difference in the school level of enrollment in physics are the number of physics sections taught by an individual teacher, the past trend of physics growth in the school, the percentage of girls enrolled in physics, the number of college physics credits earned by the physics teacher, the advice of peers to enroll in the course, and the number of levels of physics offered by the school. A factor which may affect the level of enrollment in a negative manner was the number of college credits in mathematics earned by the physics teacher. More than half of the teachers who responded to the survey reported that they were certified in Arizona to teach physics, and the reported number of college physics credits earned by them ranged from three to over 100. Of the many different enrollment enhancement techniques used by teachers and schools to encourage enrollment, one of the more effective methods was the education of the guidance counselor for the purpose and level of the physics classes offered. Many teachers indicated that they relied on their reputations and students in their physics classes to 'sell' physics to prospective physics students.