Public Profile

The National Science Literacy Coalition is a nonprofit advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., that campaigns for increased federal and state funding for science education in American public schools. Founded in 2008, the organization operates with a staff of twelve and an annual budget that its executive director has described as “roughly what a mid-tier school district spends on football helmets.”

The Coalition publishes an annual report, The State of Knowing, which tracks American adults’ understanding of basic scientific concepts across twelve categories including biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, and what the report’s methodology section calls “things you should know if you are a person living on a planet.” The report has been cited by congressional committees, education policy journals, and op-ed writers, though the Coalition notes that citation has not yet translated into legislation.

The organization is led by Sheila Grogan, who has served as executive director since 2015. Ms. Grogan previously worked as a curriculum specialist for the Maryland State Department of Education and holds a master’s degree in science education from the University of Virginia. She has testified before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on three occasions, each time delivering what she has described as “the same testimony, because nothing has changed.”

The Coalition’s advocacy efforts have focused on the integration of conceptual physics into middle school curricula, the expansion of laboratory requirements in high school science courses, and what Ms. Grogan calls “the radical proposition that Americans should understand the forces acting on their bodies at all times.” The organization has endorsed no political candidates but has publicly graded every Congress since the 113th on science education funding, with no session receiving higher than a C-minus.

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