High-school physics enrollments are growing, girls are filling nearly half the seats in physics classrooms, and salaries of high-school teachers are rising. In those areas, high-school physics gets an A, though other areas still need improvement, according to a recent report by the American Institute of Physics, which surveyed more than 3000 public and private high schools across the US.
In 2001, 31% of students took physics in high school, compared with only 20% in 1987. Contributing to the rise, the report says, are an increase in the percentage of high-school graduates who attend college and a perception that colleges have stiffened their entrance requirements. Because of the greater demand for physics, high schools are offering more advanced, honors, and conceptual physics courses. According to the report, conceptual physics courses are “likely to have had the biggest impact on enrollments.”
Girls approached parity with boys in high-school physics classes in...
