U.S. Math and Science Education Receives a Failing Grade

In a recent press release, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings admitted that current practices in the United States math and science education were lacking. The Academic Competitiveness Council (ACC), the committee established to examine current math and science education in the United States, determined that even though the government spent billions of dollars on math and science education in recent years, there is no organized "best practice" for math and science education based on proven results.

In the May 10 report, titled "Academic Competitiveness Council Finds Little Scientific Evidence Backs Federally-Funded Math and Science Education Programs," Secretary Spellings, who was the head of the Council slated to complete this study, stated the issue as follows: "Currently there are more than 100 programs that focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics education spread across 13 agencies, yet little is known about the impact of these programs on student performance. That's why as Congress considers competitiveness legislation I urge them to review the ACC report and focus investments in programs that demonstrate measurable effects on student achievement or fill gaps in the large portfolio of existing programs." The Academic Competitiveness Council found that over $3.12 billion was spent on 105 math and science education programs in the 2006 fiscal year.

The concern is that this money is being spent on math and science education with no real understanding of what is working and what isn't. Office of Management and Budget Director Rob Portman stated that "The work of the Council will help agencies integrate rigorous evaluations in science and math education programs, so that the impact of the federal investment is measurable and more positive."

The Academic Competitiveness Council has issued six recommendations to address the issue of having no proven best practice for math and science education. These recommendations include:
- Researching and implementing math and science education best practices
- Updating math and science education goals and metrics to foster improved communication between government agencies involved in this work
- Facilitating better coordination between federal, state, and local math and science education programs
- Improving current math and science education program designs so that goals can be easily measured and assessed
- Collaborating on implementing the Academic Competitiveness Council recommendations with the support of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC)

In addition, the Academic Competitiveness Council has recommended that funding for math and science education programs not be increased until these have been proven to be successful.

C.M. Paulson is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh, PA. In addition to receiving her MBA from the University of Pittsburgh's Katz School of Business, Ms. Paulson worked for almost ten years for two Fortune 100 companies in a variety of analytical and management roles.

Source: U.S. Department of Education