Lisa Escarcega
DemocraticQ1 What advisory mechanisms will you implement to ensure that evidence and scientific findings play a crucial role in your policymaking process?
“I have a Ph.D in Quantitative Research Methods. One my informal roles on the State Board of Education is to question and/or fact check information the board is presented by both internal and external stakeholders. I have a cadre of like minded individuals that help me in this work. This is particularly important in education where the superficial analysis of data can lead to conclusions not supported by the evidence.”
Q5 What are your opinions on the current state of science literacy, and how could K-12 education standards be adapted to form a better public understanding of and relationship building in science?
“I think the science standards themselves are improving each cycle of adoption (every 6 years). The issue around science literacy is the persistent gap between individuals wanting to trust science and the actual understanding of core concepts that then gets exploited by misinformation. We have to combine the teaching of science and information literacy.”