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Science Committee Hears From NSF and Department of
Education
July 23, 1997
On July 23 the House Science Committee heard testimony
from Neal Lane, Director of NSF, and Richard Riley,
Secretary of Education, on their agencies' programs
aimed at improving the quality of math, science, and
technology education.
Secretary Riley emphasized the need for improving math,
science, and technology education to prepare people
for high-tech jobs that require these skills. Some
encouraging news can be found in the Third International
Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) which showed
4th grade students scoring above the international
average. The less good news is that 8th grade students
were below the international average. Among the lessons
learned from TIMSS are the need for high expectations
of students, explicit performance standards, and a
curriculum that progresses from arithmetic to algebra
and geometry in the 7th and 8th grades.
Secretary Riley emphasized the joint activities of
NSF and the Department of Education in a number of
areas to encourage states to develop standards. He
highlighted the various programs to assist educationally
disadvantaged students (Title I) and to improve the
application of technology to education (Technology
Challenge Innovation Grants), as well as successful
administration efforts to provide discount rates to
allow schools to hook up to the internet.
Dr. Lane testified on NSF's leadership role in science,
math, engineering and technology education. NSF seeks
the best ideas for curriculum development, technology
applications, teacher enhancement, and increasingly,
systemic educational reform. In the most recent school
year NSF supported 59 systemic reform activities directly
affecting over 7.7 million students in 38 states.
NSF's $115 million in support of these activities
was matched by over $520 million in state, local,
and private sector funds. Dr. Lane also outlined a
number of joint NSF/Department of Education activities.
Two themes dominated questions of the witnesses - the
role of technology in education and the appropriate
role of the Federal government. It is agreed that
parental involvement, community support, and quality
teaching are critical for improving schools, but the
federal role is mostly reserved for teacher training
and enhancement. Agencies have also been active is
helping establish voluntary standards for teaching
math and science. Several member lamented the wide
gap in the quality of facilities available to students,
even within a single congressional district. Both
witnesses pointed to programs their agencies funded
(Title I funds are directed at improving equity; Urban
and Rural Systemic Initiatives focus on areas with
the most pressing educational needs) to help remedy
this disparity, but admitted that ultimately it was
a responsibility reserved by the state and local school
systems.
See also:
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