The Crisis in Math and Science Education -- What is to be Done?
The scientific and academic community has been warning about the crisis in math and science education for years; our schools are not producing the scientists, engineers and mathematicians necessary for this country to maintain its science and technological preeminence, thereby putting our global economic prominence at risk.
The National Academy of Sciences sounded the alarm in its 2005 report, “Rising above the Gathering Storm.”
Thomas Friedman’s best-seller, The World is Flat, directed public attention to the challenges America faces in the increasingly competitive global economy.
But with all the countless reports devoted to the issue, the Beijing Olympics drove the point home. The spectacle thousands of Chinese engaged in an expertly choreographed combination of humanity and technology, again proves that there are many in this world who want to replace us as the dominant economic power on the globe.
Look at what is happening around us. Seventy-one percent of all PhDs in electrical engineering granted by American universities go to foreign-born students. This is the discipline that fuels innovation in the semiconductor industry. Chinese students have now taken the lead in earning American Ph.D.’s; Tsinghua and Peking University each have higher numbers than those from the University of California at Berkeley, which was number one until recently. We are not preparing and inspiring our youngsters to enter the scientific pipeline early.
Our universities do a terrific job with students once they arrive, but our K-12 efforts have not been as effective as they need to be. The United States has one of the lowest high school graduation rates in the industrialized world; 3 of every 10 ninth graders do not graduate on time.
Our performance on math and science tests, while comparable to other industrialized nations in the fourth grade, decline by the 12th grade, where we rank near the bottom. Virginia does somewhat better than the nation as a whole, but only 38% of our eighth graders were at or above proficiency in math. Part of problem is that we do not have enough qualified math and science teachers; only 52% of our math teachers and 74% of our science teachers in Virginia actually majored in the courses that they teach. Without action, this statistic is likely to worsen as experienced teachers retire and are not replaced with others trained in these disciplines.
And our investment in science and research and development is lagging by comparison to other nations. Singapore is engaged in a multibillion-dollar effort to make it the leader in stem-cell and health-related research, and is recruiting scientists from all over the world, including the U.S. In the next year, Saudi Arabia will launch a new research university with an endowment of $10 billion (by comparison, UVa’s endowment now stands at $3.1 billion). Our high technology trade balance has shifted from a positive of $33 billion in 1990 to a negative of $132 billion in 2006 and the United States is now ranked 7th in the world in its research and development spending as a percentage of GDP.
So what do we do?
TAP2015, a coalition of 15 prominent business organizations and the Business Roundtable, audaciously announced a goal of doubling the number of math, science, and technological bachelor’s degrees by 2015; a recent review of their efforts indicate some progress but not enough to meet the goal.
Congress has passed the America Competes Act of 2007, a $33.6 billion commitment to research and teacher recruitment. And in Virginia, we are continuing to advance proposals that will hopefully contribute to a national solution. Using a $500,000 grant from the National Governors Association, the Commonwealth has established six STEM Career and Technical Academies in different areas of the state, each utilizing public-private partnerships to build capacity in math and science-related fields.
We are also searching for ways to recruit and retain excellent teachers of math and science in the middle schools who can inspire youngsters to explore these fields as professions. Last year, math and science teachers were able to take advantage of expanded funding of the Virginia Teaching Scholarship Loan Forgiveness Program.
Other financial incentives will no doubt be necessary; we should increase rewards for those who complete the rigorous and respected National Teacher Certification Program and consider differential pay linked to excellence in results. We should use matching grants to spur regional efforts that upgrade the skills and knowledge of teachers who teach or can teach in these disciplines.
And we should look at ways to license new teachers who have math, science, and engineering experience that they can bring into the classroom without necessarily returning to school to obtain a specialized degree.
Private industry and our universities will need to play more active roles. Micron Technology has teamed with the Manassas school on new classroom initiatives. Virginia Tech works with Montgomery County schools on the First Robotics program to inspire youngsters to engage engineering challenges. And UVa is working with Albemarle and Charlottesville schools to develop new ways to integrate the teaching of math, science, and engineering at the high school level.
For our Commonwealth and our nation to compete globally and maintain our standard of living, we will need to do better in math, science, and engineering. Our challenge is clear; now, we must marshal the will and resources to meet it.
(This statement was published in the Charlottesville Daily Progress on Sunday, November 16, 2008.)
