Visit the National Center for Science Education web site.  The territory they mark out for themselves is readily apparent.  Anything that is not within the camp of evolution is not science, at least not according to the NCSE.  This is the primary presupposition and is expressed in various ways.

Another basic assumption that many old earth evolutionists hold is that there is no God.  This accounts for much of the communication barrier that often becomes apparent when parents express concern over science curriculum.  It is also fair warning to college freshmen about the strong atheistic bias they will encounter on most university campuses.

The extreme age assumed by most studies of the geological column is another example of the paradigm subscribed to by so many in the earth sciences.  Actually, rock layers and fossils have been hyped as powerful icons of the old earth establishment.

Morality is assumed to be an unenlightened thing of the past.  Relativism is instead based solely upon individual needs of the moment and personal preferences.  It is considered unnecessary to have any connection with absolutes.

That materialist philosophy and empirical science are interchangeable concepts is one of the most basic assumptions in academia.

Underlying all of these foundational blocks is the presupposition that matter is all there is, that matter has always been and that everything can be explained from the forum of materialism.  So it follows that science rules the other disciplines because the mind is exalted above the spirit simply because the latter is defined as non-existent.

This list is by no means complete.  Yet while all these presuppositions and others not mentioned here form an intimidating combination, each one is challengeable.  Actually, the entire edifice may be cracking.  Science cannot maintain its current stature while its underlying philosophy continues to run away from empirical evidence.  Just like the behemoth that was the Soviet Union, the end may be near for the monopoly that old earth evolutionism has had in the arena of science.