Science education has historically focused on the acquisition of a large body of factual information. This was considered both desirable and unavoidable, due to the nature of science as a fact-based discipline. Current thinking recognizes the importance of process as well as content in science education, and recent reform efforts have centered on an attempt to revise the traditional focus to better reflect the nature of science as a process, not just an accumulation of information. The National Science Education Standards (NSES) were designed to set forth guidelines for structuring curricula, teaching, and assessment. However, the NSES contains internal contradictions that ultimately play havoc with the intended goals of the document. The science portion of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) exacerbates this problem. While the concepts of standardized national guidelines and national assessment remain legitimate, we cannot achieve our national goals until we have a valid working definition for "scientific literacy" and a revised vision for teaching and assessment both at the local and the national level. Ultimately, one of our best hopes for achieving scientific literacy on a national scale is to invoke the lessons of Jean Henri Fabré, and let entomologists take the lead in science education reform. Science teachers can provide their students with opportunities to undertake original experiments and explore vital themes of science with engaging, hands-on activities by incorporating the use of insects in their classrooms.