Emanuel Preparatory School of Math and Science

: Science and Science Education in the United States
Despite recent increases in some measures of scientific and mathematical proficiency,
U.S. students on average still lag behind their international counterparts in some areas,
and major gaps persist between groups in the U.S. Opportunities to participate in practice teaching and professional development are
unevenly distributed and insufficient to transform the knowledge and skills of teachers as
a whole. Parents recognize the need for improved science and mathematics education but tend to
be satisfied with the amount of science and mathematics their own children study in
school. Students and parents in other countries tend to associate success in science and
mathematics not with innate talent but with the effort invested in those subjects. The National Science Board has identified better coordination and more effective
teaching as the greatest needs of the U.S. Every two years the National Science Foundation releases a new edition of its Science
and Engineering Indicators. Kathryn Sullivan, director of the Battelle Center for
Mathematics and Science Education Policy at Ohio State University, led off the
workshop by presenting some of the data from the 2008 Indicators that are especially
pertinent to science and science education in the United States.1
Reference: National Science Board. 2008. Science and Engineering Indicators 2008. Arlington,
VA: National Science Foundation. nternational Test Scores: Poor U.S. Test Results Tied To Weak Curriculum
Results of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) involving a halfmillion
students in 41 countries. The tests showed U.S. fourth-graders performing poorly, middle school students even
worse, and high school students are unable to compete. By the time our students are ready to leave high school - ready to enter higher education
and the labor force - they are doing so badly with science they are significantly weaker
than their peers in other countries. Our idea of "advanced" is clearly below international standards. There appears to be a consistent weakness in our teaching performance in physical
sciences that becomes magnified over the years.