From its beginning as an offshoot of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the leadership of the Botanical Society of America (BSA; the Society) had a strong commitment to improving botanical education at all levels. During its early years, the BSA’s major concerns were improvement of K-12 botanical instruction and implementation of botany requirements for entrance into university programs. Very quickly, however, the emphasis shifted to improving science instruction both in the schools and colleges—the theme of a 1911 symposium. By the 1920s botanical instruction in the schools was in decline and was being replaced by general biology. In 1936 botany was removed from the College Entrance Examination Board and high school botanical instruction virtually disappeared. During this period the Society’s energy was focused at the college level. The Committee on Educational Standards and Methods of Teaching was very active and their work culminated in the publication of two lengthy documents: the first examining contemporary coverage of botanical topics in colleges and universities, and the second focused on aligning achievement tests with teaching objectives.
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