Tomorrow, in Community School District 10 in the Bronx, a districtwide science “exhibition” will be held. Our Andrew Wolf has reported in the pages of his Riverdale Review that the event is a watered-down version of what used to be a full-fledged science-fair competition, complete with awards for the best entries. Not this year. Mr. Wolf reports that a district press release declares the event as meant “to honor the work of students in meeting the New York City Science Performance Standards — Standard 8.” The release continues: “The assessment booklet attached to each project shows how their project meets this as well as other science standards.”

Once — and it seems like long ago — students exhibiting creativity, hard work, and an outstanding knowledge of science would produce science-fair entries, some of them clumsy and unworkable but many impressive, in the hopes of winning awards. Now, in the Bronx, they aim for attaining “Perfor mance Standards.” Awards are not given for excellence; rather, booklets are produced to showcase bureaucratic approval.

The complication, it seems, is that any time some students win awards, many stu dents do not. This attitude is part of a trend that is hardly limited to one school district. Nationwide, the notion that self-esteem is more important than competition has been creeping into our schools. Enthralled by progressive education fads, schools today systemati cally promote mediocrity, as can be seen by the hoopla in District 10 simply for doing what is expected.

Not everyone is pleased by this trend. Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz has called for the reinstitution of a real science fair — prizes and all. “There is no substitute for competition,” he said. “It is absolutely critical for the future of these students to have real competition with real prizes, just like in real life, to award those who stand out through hard work and imagination.”