South Carolina Requires Students to Critically Analyze Evolution

The South Carolina Education Oversight Committee unanimously ratified high school biology standards requiring students to understand why "scientists continue to investigate and critically analyze aspects of evolutionary theory." The South Carolina State Board of Education adopted the standards unanimously last month, and submitted them to the EOC for approval. South Carolina’s new evolution standard does not require teaching the theory of intelligent design.

The Associated Press has corrected the lead paragraph of its story on biology standards. As Discovery’s public policy officer Casey Luskin reported on Evolution News & Views last night, the AP's original story erroneously stated that the new South Carolina standards do not require the critical analysis of evolution. But as of early this morning, the new AP story clearly states that the South Carolina standards do require critical analysis of evolution:

COLUMBIA, S.C. - The state Education Oversight Committee approved high school biology standards Monday that require students to "critically analyze aspects of evolutionary theory." (emphasis added)

The article correctly points out that teaching students to critically analyze evolution is not the same thing as teaching alternative theories such as intelligent design.

"Scientific inquiry is taught at every grade level and in every discipline," Education Department spokesman Jim Foster said. "It does not require students to study alternatives to evolution that are decidedly out of the mainstream."

Click here to see a backgrounder on South Carolina science standards and critical analysis of evolution.

For answers to frequently asked questions about evolution and intelligent design please click here.