Physics Was Once First and Was Once for All

The analysis of historical trends in science education can provide valuable insights for future reforms. Yet, despite their potential, such studies are rare.² An increasingly significant reform effort in physics education is the push to reverse the sequence in which the sciences are taught in high school — the Physics First movement. This reform effort gained considerable momentum recently when the AAPT issued a statement promoting Physics for All.³ Is there anything we can learn from the past that might inform the Physics First/Physics for All debate? A recent article in this journal⁴ outlined the historical development of the Biology-Chemistry-Physics (B-C-P) science sequence and its impact on enrollment, time allocation, methodology, and status of physics in the high school curriculum. Further analysis of the history of the B-C-P sequence shows that surprisingly physics was once first and was ^{once for all} in U.S. high schools. So what happened? How and why did the sequence change? This article describes how science course offerings and enrollment at different grade levels have evolved from 1890 to the present day. The factors behind these changes are analyzed, and the implications for physics education are discussed with the intent of using the past to inform the future.