Press Statement - December 5, 2000
| PS 00-11 | |||
| Media contact: | Charlie Drum | (703) 292-8070 | cdrum@nsf.gov |
Statement by Dr. Rita R. Colwell
Director, National Science Foundation
On the Release of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study-Repeat (TIMSS-R) Results
The National Science Foundation is proud to support TIMSS-R, and we view its findings as integral to accomplishing our overall mission of promoting progress in science and engineering.
The NSF has a vital role in preparing our nation's workforce for the 21st Century. In fact, the NSF's vision statement speaks to this mandate: "Enabling the nation's future through discovery, learning, and innovation."
Since our inception 50 years ago, we have been dedicated to wise investments in research and education for the benefit of our nation. A primary strategic goal towards this vision is to invest in people; to develop both the science and engineering workforce and a well-prepared citizenry.
The Foundation funds programs that include everyone from pre-kindergarten students through adult life-long learners. We call this our "K through gray" approach. We enable the science and technology workforce of today and tomorrow.
Today's global economy is changing too rapidly for any of us to stand still. In this new era, information has moved to center stage, and knowledge has become the currency of everyday life. Currently, many companies in the U.S. must look beyond our shores to meet the increasingly technical demands of today's marketplace. This is a short-term option at best.
To truly meet our nation's demands for tomorrow, we must tap into all of our available resources today. This means engaging more of our citizens, especially women and under-represented minorities, in science, mathematics, engineering and technology.
Today's release of data from the TIMSS-R study provides a clear picture of the challenges that we face in preparing a world-class workforce. Other elements of the study provide input on how to best structure our national investment.
You may have heard that Congress recently approved a 14% budget increase for NSF. This puts us on a trajectory to double our budget in the next five years. The findings from TIMSS-R will give us the new compass headings we need to guide this investment.
TIMSS-R is an invaluable resource for an in-depth examination of education practices here in the United States. This enables us to understand our weaknesses, and it points to strategies for overcoming them.
For example, today's results highlight the importance of teacher quality. U.S. teachers of eighth grade mathematics and science are less likely to have majors or minors in the fields they teach than their counterparts abroad. This finding is consistent with results from the 1995 TIMSS study. We know that kids can't learn what their teachers don't deeply understand. The previous TIMSS study also revealed the importance of rigorous mathematics and science curricula for high student achievement. Both of these principles have been integrated into NSF's education efforts. Lessons learned from the TIMSS-R will also shape future NSF investments.
However, it will take time to digest the TIMSS-R findings and draw strong conclusions about the patterns of student achievement we see in today's report. We will be carefully scrutinizing the underlying data of the TIMSS-R report to identify correlations between practices and achievement.
In the coming year, we look forward to the release of the international video studies and the data from the 27 U.S. benchmarking jurisdictions. These school districts and states engaged in the TIMSS-R as if they were separate nations. These additional components of TIMSS-R will enrich our awareness of the factors that contribute to the declining achievement levels of our eighth grade students.
The data contained in the TIMSS-R study will be used for years to understand issues and trends in the teaching of mathematics and science. NSF is pleased to have supported this study and the resulting reports.
In closing let me add one final point. We all know that for the first time since Sputnik, education is the number one issue on the national agenda. The TIMSS-R results may not be startling or new, but we think our response should embody the idea of "sustained urgency." That is, we need to strengthen our resolve to make the wisest investments for the future of our nation.
-NSF-
 | ||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |