Virtually every U.S. high-school student is required to study biology, at minimum, to earn a diploma. But the exact content of the course varies from state to state. I investigate the role of state standards for high-school science content in shaping knowledge and attitudes about science—specifically, how inclusion of lessons on evolution theory influences students’ knowledge about evolution at the end of schooling, attitudes on evolution in adulthood, as well as the probability that they work in life sciences.
There is substantial variation across U.S. states in how evolution is covered in education standards—and the nature of this variation has changed over time. I look at the period of 2000 to 2009. During that timespan, 22 states expanded the coverage of evolution in their education standards and 15 states reduced it.
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In adulthood, being from a state that requires comprehensive evolution instruction as opposed to no evolution instruction increases evolution approval by 33 percentage points—a 57 percent jump. It also boosts the probability of working in life sciences by 0.04 percentage points, or 23 percent.
My analysis shows that what states require in their educational standards has long-lasting effects on individual attitudes and occupational choices—which, even outside of the challenges of managing a pandemic, can foster innovation, opportunity, and economic growth.
