Political leaders, technical managers, and academics often claim that the U.S. is lagging behind in math and science education. They cite poor test results, declining international rankings, and enrollment declines in the hard sciences. They push us to improve our education system and graduate engineers and scientists more to keep pace with countries like India and China. Yet a new report from the Urban Institute, a think tank, nonpartisan, tells a different story. The report refutes many statements confident weaknesses and failings of the education system of the United States. These data will certainly be discussed by both sides in the debate over highly skilled workers and immigration. The argument advanced by Microsoft, Google, Intel, and others is that there are not enough tech workers in the U.S. The authors of the report, the Urban Institute’s Hal Salzman and Georgetown University professor Lindsay Lowell, show that math, science, and reading test scores in primary and secondary education have increased over the last two decades, and students from the United States are now near the top of international rankings. Perhaps equally surprising, the report finds that our education system is producing more science and engineering graduates than the market demand. These results go against what has been the dominance of our education system and our science and engineering workforce. Consider reports on national competitiveness that policymakers often turn to reports such as the 2005 “Rising Above the Gathering Storm” by the National Academy of Sciences. This report indicates that the U.S. is in dire straits because of poor math and science preparation. The report of declining test scores, fewer students taking math and science curriculum and of low quality and teacher preparation in K-12 education compared to other countries. The call was echoed by some of the most prominent people in business and politics. Bill Gates, Microsoft chairman told a summit on education in 2005, “In the international competition for the biggest and best supply of knowledge workers, America is lagging behind.” President George W. Bush addressed the issue in his 2006 State of the Union address. “We should encourage children to take more math and science, and make sure those courses are rigorous enough to compete with other nations,” he said. Salzman and Lowell found the reverse was true. Their report shows the results of students in the United States has steadily improved over time in mathematics, science and reading. It also found enrollment in math and science is actually in place. For example, in 1982, high school graduates earned 2. 6 credits in mathematics and 2. 2 credits in science, on average. In 1998, the average number of credits increased to 3. Mathematics 5 and 3. 2 credits in science. The percent of students taking chemistry increased from 45% in 1990 to 55% in 1996 and 60% in 2004. Scores on national tests such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the SAT, and the law have also shown increases in math scores over the last two decades. And the new report goes against the grain again when he compared the U.S. to other countries. He noted that over the last ten years the U.S. has ranked a consistent second place science. It was also far ahead of other nations in reading and literacy and other academic areas. In fact, the report reveals that the U.S. is one of the few countries that has consistently shown improvement over time. Why the big difference? Salzman says that reports citing low U.S. international rankings often misinterpret the data. Review of international rankings, which he says they are all based on one of two tests, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) or the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) show in the U.S. a second group, not trailing the leading economies in the world as it is commonly reported. In fact, the few countries that place higher than the U.S. are generally small nations, and few of these rank consistently high in all grades, subjects, and years tested. In addition, he says, serious methodological flaws, such as populations of test and other limitations preclude drawing meaningful comparisons between school systems between countries. In terms of our workforce is concerned, the new report showed that from 1985 to 2000, citizens of the United States approximately 435,000 permanent residents and one year earned a bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate in science and genius. During the same period, there were about 150,000 jobs added annually to the science and engineering workforce. These figures do not include those retiring or leaving a profession but do indicate the size of the talent pool available. It seems that almost two-thirds of bachelor’s and about one third of master’s graduates with jobs in other fields of science and engineering. Michael Teitelbaum, vice president of the Foundation Alfred P. Sloan, who, among others, works to improve science education, said the research highlights the troubling weaknesses in many conventional policy prescriptions. Proposals to increase the supply of scientists and engineers quickly, without any objective evidence of the rapid growth comparable with attractive career opportunities for these professionals, might actually be hurt. In previous columns I wrote about my research team at Duke University concluded that shatters common myths about India and China graduate 12 times as many engineers as the U.S. We found that the U.S. has produced figures comparable and was far ahead in quality. Our research also demonstrated that there is no shortage of engineers in the U.S., and companies are not going offshore because of the lack of American workers. So it is not a lack of interest in science and engineering in the United States, or a deficiency in the supply of engineers. However, sometimes there can be short-term shortages of engineers with specific expertise in certain industry segments or in different parts of the country. The National Science Foundation data show that students graduating from 1993 to 2001, 20% of the baccalaureate has a master’s degree in fields other than science and engineering and 45% worked in other areas. Among those who received a master’s, 7% continued their studies and 31% worked in other fields of science and engineering. It is not a problem with the ability of American children. Even if there was a gap in math and science education, there are so many graduates today that there will be enough people who are above average and fully qualified for the relatively low science and engineering professions. Graduates in science and engineering do not see enough opportunity in these occupations to pursue further studies or to take a job. With the competitiveness of the United States at stake, we need our priorities. Education is really important, and an educated workforce is what will help the U.S. maintain its global advance. But emphasizing math and science education in humanities and social sciences can not be the best prescription for the U.S. We need our children receive a balanced and broad education. Maybe we should focus on creating demand for many scientists and engineers we superior. There are many problems of global warming on the development of alternative fuels to cures for infectious diseases, which must be solved. Rather than blaming our schools, we will create exciting programs that motivate our children to help solve these problems.
Apr 102010