Federal STEM Education Programs: Educators' Perspectives
Opening Statement By Chairman Brian Baird
Good morning and thank you for attending today’s Subcommittee on Research and Science Education hearing. Today, we are going to hear from educators in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics - STEM fields - about their experiences working with the federal R&D mission agencies.
This hearing is part of an ongoing effort that the Committee is undertaking to determine how to improve the level of scientific understanding of students in the U.S. and how to attract more students to careers in science and engineering.
There have been at least a half dozen reports released over the past 20 years documenting how American students have fallen behind students in other countries. The National Academies report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm, warned us that this will threaten the standing of our country in the future. The authors wrote “the scientific and technological building blocks critical to our economic leadership are eroding at a time when many other nations are gathering strength.” They recommended that the highest priority should be a vast improvement of science and mathematics education in this country in order to increase the number of students interested in and prepared to enter careers in STEM fields.
The Science and Technology Committee held a hearing in March with leading voices in private industry and higher education to discuss research and education needs in STEM fields. Every one of the witnesses, including a retired CEO of Lockheed Martin, the current CEO of McGraw-Hill, the CEO of Intel, and the President of the Council on Competitiveness, testified that companies in America need a workforce well-trained in STEM fields in order to continue the innovative solutions that keep them profitable.
The Committee has taken this advice to heart. H.R. 362, 10,000 Teachers, 10 Millions Minds Science and Math Scholarship Act, was introduced by Chairman Gordon early this year. The bill implements most of the K-12 education recommendations of the Gathering Storm report and was passed by the House last month.
The Research and Science Education Subcommittee will next be exploring ways that federal efforts in STEM education can be better focused and more effective. This is the first in a planned series of hearings to address these issues.
Today we are reviewing the role of the federal R&D mission agencies in improving STEM education. Specifically, I am referring to NASA, NOAA, NIST, EPA, and the Department of Energy. I believe there is a great deal of untapped potential residing in the expertise of scientists and engineers at these agencies.
Not only do these scientists and engineers possess impressive content knowledge in the sciences, they also have real-world experience with the “wow” factors that gets kids excited about learning science. Space travel, discovering new forms of ocean life, creating renewable energy sources, improving air and water quality, testing bullet-proof vests – I could list hundreds more activities that make science and math captivating.
Although these agencies have made commendable efforts to share their knowledge and passion for science with students, I fear that those efforts have been relatively small and have varied widely in their methods, target audiences, and methods of evaluation. The programs have been developed independently and without a strategic plan for accomplishing a common set of goals and objectives. With a unified effort, I am convinced that these programs could have a much bigger impact on the approximately 52 million K-12 students in America.
We have asked our witnesses today to tell us about their experiences participating in these programs. We have asked them to respond to a series of questions: What do the agencies do well? What should they improve? Which programs do educators consider successful? And how do they define that success?
The Committee is devoted to improving science education− so devoted that we added science education to the name of this Subcommittee. We are very concerned that American students are not achieving their potential in science and math education. This is a concern not only as we look at competing in a knowledge-based global economy, but also when we look at access to high-paying, technology-based jobs in this country.
I look forward to hearing from today’s witnesses.
Opening Statement By Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Our nation's future competitiveness depends on whether or not tomorrow's generation is prepared for the high-tech jobs of the future.
Enthusiastic, adequately prepared teachers who utilize successful teaching methods are needed in many of today's math and science classrooms.
Mr. Chairman, the Federal Government must invest in math and science education, as these investments help fuel our nation's economic growth.
Economists agree that no other investment generates a greater long-term return to the economy than scientific R&D, and that starts with educational systems. Research, education, the technical workforce, scientific discovery, innovation and economic growth are intertwined.
The Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Caucus has reported that Texas ranked 20th in the Nation on the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress scores for mathematics with a score of 281. The national average was 278.
Texas did not report on the percentage of Texas middle school teachers who were certified in math (the national average was 49 percent) or science (the national average was 54 percent).
Sadly, only seven percent of Texas' 12th grade students took the AP Calculus exam in 2004. Students should be challenged so that they are able to master these subjects, if we want to compete globally.
Today's witnesses are here to provide a critical view of federal STEM education programs. Members of Congress need to know what works and what doesn't work so that we can build policies that offer the most benefit per taxpayer dollar.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
Witnesses
Panel
1 - Linda Froschauer
President (2006-2007) National Science Teachers Assocation National Science Teachers Assocation
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2 - Michael Lach
Director of Mathematics and Science Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools
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3 - Dr. George D. Nelson
Director Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Western Washington University Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Western Washington University
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4 - Mr. Van Reiner
Director Maryland Science Center Maryland Science Center
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5 - Dr. Iris Weiss
President Horizon Research, Inc. Horizon Research, Inc.
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