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Hearing on Coordination of Federal Science and
Math Education Programs
Testimony of
Dr. Neal Lane, Director
National Science Foundation
Before the House Science Committee
July 23, 1997
Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the opportunity to appear
today, together with Secretary Riley, to discuss the
role of the federal government in science, mathematics,
engineering and technology (SMET) education. We have
a long history of working with the Department of Education
to sustain and improve our country's educational systems.
Educating for the Future
America's system of higher education sets a world standard
for excellence and inclusiveness. Yet even this outstanding
system faces challenges in preparing students for
dealing with the rapidly changing scientific and technological
landscape. The continued involvement of the federal
government in SMET education is important to instigate
the major changes required for preparing U.S. students
for the twenty-first century. States and local school
districts evolve slowly and often are unable, on their
own, to take the necessary difficult steps and accept
the risks inherent in major systemic changes. By sharing
the costs and disseminating vital information with
respect to the development of new curriculum materials,
assessment instruments, and models for reforming and
renewing educational systems, the federal government
stimulates and helps enable schools and school districts
to provide world class education to all students.
Furthermore, through human resource development in
partnership with teachers, workers, state and local
government, academia, and business, the federal government
ensures quality and equality of educational opportunity.
These commitments are central to producing the finest
scientists and engineers needed to maintain U.S. leadership
across the frontiers of science in the twenty-first
century.
A Catalyst for Progress
Guided by its long-standing commitment to the highest
standards of excellence in the support of discovery
and learning, the National Science Foundation (NSF)
aims to provide the leadership and stewardship necessary
to achieve excellence in U.S. science, mathematics,
engineering, and technology education at all levels.
Proficiency in essential skills and understanding
of basic concepts in mathematics and science will
be critical to the earning power of individuals and
to the nation's economic competitiveness and quality
of life in the twenty-first century. NSF strives to
assist in the development of such proficiencies in
all disciplines of science and mathematics and at
all levels of education through our long-standing
competitive processes based on expert peer review.
Through catalytic, integrative investments in the
work of a dynamic, creative and diverse community
of researchers and educators, NSF can help the Nation
meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.
NSF is helping to address these challenges by supporting
innovative, systemic approaches -- improvements in
the entire delivery system -- of education and training
at all levels. NSF-funded science and mathematics
education projects are conceived of and carried out
by individual investigators -- researchers, teachers
and administrators representing higher education,
school districts, states, and, occasionally, the private
sector -- and are selected by a competitive process
using expert peer evaluation. NSF science and mathematics
education programs support, as do all NSF programs,
cutting-edge, high-quality experiments, designed to
foster the natural connections between human learning
and the process of inquiry and discovery. As these
new ideas become the basis for broader-based educational
programs, NSF-supported new science and mathematics
education initiatives can have a far-reaching impact.
NSF has realized for many years the potential of technology
to improve education at all levels, from pre-kindergarten
through grade 12 (preK-12) and on through graduate
programs. In line with one of the recommendations
of the President's Committee of Advisors on Science
and Technology (PCAST) in its Report to the President
on the Use of Technology to Strengthen K-12 Education
in the United States, the Foundation's new Knowledge
and Distributed Intelligence initiative -- or KDI
-- extends NSF's 15- year history of supporting research
and implementation of high-risk, high-payoff initiatives
designed to improve how we use learning technologies.
One example of NSF's educational technology efforts,
sponsored also by the Illinois State Board of Education/Eisenhower
Program, the Learning through Collaborative Visualization
(CoVis) project, enables students to study environmental
and atmospheric phenomena through networked, interactive
visualization software - such as that used by weather
forecasters - modified to aid student learning. CoVis
also works one on one with schools and districts to
help them establish physical connections to the Internet.
Thus, NSF's educational technology programs aim to
build new, systemic and lasting changes in the nation's
educational infrastructure. The Foundation strives
to increase the use of educational technology and
build a solid research base that helps us understand
how students use technology to learn.
Reforming K-12 Education
NSF has long been recognized for its leadership as
a federal partner in improving K-12 science and mathematics
education. It has leveraged intellectual and fiscal
resources and forged partnerships to meet emerging
challenges and extend its impact nationally. Through
its systemic reforms, NSF promotes sustained, intensive
reform that focuses on substantive change in the classroom.
NSF's Teacher Enhancement and Teacher Preparation
programs are key pillars of systemic reform efforts.
They strive to strengthen teachers' knowledge and
pedagogical skills and create a network of teachers
who are better able to foster reform. Moreover, NSF's
Instructional Materials Development (IMD) Program
promotes the development of materials and strategies
to enhance learning and to encourage students' positive
attitudes towards science, mathematics, and technology.
By incorporating investigative, hands-on science and
mathematics, these materials facilitate changes in
the basic delivery of classroom instruction. Finally,
NSF is taking on the challenge of helping to develop
a robust set of standards-based assessment instruments
and procedures.
In School Year 1996-97, NSF's 59 Statewide Systemic
Initiatives (SSI), Urban Systemic Initiatives (USI),
Rural Systemic Initiatives (RSI), and Comprehensive
Partnerships for Mathematics and Science Achievement
(CPMSA) provided direct benefits, such as professional
development, curriculum changes, and new assessment
procedures, to approximately 56,000 teachers serving
7.7 million students in about 13,000 schools in 38
states. Furthermore, NSF's FY 1997 funding of approximately
$115 million in systemic initiatives is being matched
by over $520 million in state and local funding, as
well as indirect funding through local bond initiatives
used to upgrade scientific and technological equipment
and facilities. All sites use some or all of the resources
provided by the U.S. Department of Education's Eisenhower
Professional Development State Grants in support of
their reform plans. They also make use of other funding
sources, including the Department's Goals 2000, Title
I and Carl Perkins funds, as well as state and local
funds, to provide such support. Moreover, in most
sites, major corporate partnerships have been established.
Systemic initiative projects have reported increasing
enrollment in, and completion of, science and mathematics
courses and increasing numbers of students participating
in, and passing, advanced placement mathematics and
science. Furthermore, they have provided evidence
of increased student achievement and declining gaps
in achievement between historically underserved students
and their peers. Most of the state school systems
supported by NSF through the SSI Program have developed
and adopted standards-based frameworks to guide local
school district mathematics and science curriculum
implementation. Many sites have integrated curriculum
sequences so that the fundamental ideas of higher-level
science and mathematics are mastered at earlier grades
than has occurred historically.
For example, the Miami/Dade Urban Systemic Initiative,
using NSF and Eisenhower funds, provides professional
development every year to about 4000 or over 50% of
the school-based instructional and administrative
personnel in the district. At almost all grades, student
scores on the mathematics section of the Stanford
Achievement Test have increased every year of the
initiative. Furthermore, there are consistent increases
in enrollment and completion of higher-level mathematics
and science classes among all ethnic groups in every
year of the initiative. For example, in the second
year of the initiative, there was an 26 percent increase
in the number of Hispanic students passing the advanced
placement examination in physics and a 34 percent
increase in those passing the advanced placement examination
in biology.
Improving Graduate and Undergraduate
Education
As we approach the twenty-first century, our nation's
need for cutting-edge research and world-class education
standards has never been greater. These needs for
excellence in research and education are not separate
and independent -- they are linked and interdependent.
The National Science Foundation has always recognized
the importance of promoting synergy between the research
and education missions of colleges and universities,
and the Foundation continues to seek new ways to promote
their integration at all levels.
NSF's close involvement with academic institutions
gives it the ability to promote the closer coupling
of research and education. The Foundation aims to
engage researchers and educators in a joint effort
to infuse education with the joy of discovery at every
level. NSF's Recognition Awards for the Integration
of Research and Education (RAIRE), made to ten research-intensive
universities earlier this year, were designed to stimulate
new thinking at colleges and universities on how to
better link research with education. One of the recipients,
Carnegie Mellon University, has established a Center
for Innovation in Learning that encourages and supports
faculty efforts to use problem-solving as a vehicle
for learning. Students are able to pursue independent
research and study through courses, paid work-study,
senior honors programs and internships. So, the students
encounter and solve real world problems and learn
science and engineering as a result.
Thus, through innovative, ground-breaking, systemic
approaches, NSF is changing the nature of how our
education systems, at all levels, link learning with
inquiry and discovery. NSF has stimulated reform of
undergraduate curricula in mathematics, chemistry
and engineering; fostered collaborations of two- and
four-year colleges, and secondary schools to strengthen
the science and mathematics preparation of students
preparing for the advanced technological workplace;
and instigated new models of teacher preparation that
partner disciplinary and education departments. For
example, NSF's Advanced Technological Education program
has supported the cooperative efforts of the Eastern
Iowa Center with the Partners for Environmental Technology
Education, a national infrastructure of community
colleges, industries and high schools. The Center
is identifying knowledge and competency requirements
for high school graduates entering environmental technology
programs and has developed a profile of technical
skills for the environmental technician through a
national validation program.
In FY 1998, NSF is moving to involve all of its directorates
in a new venture to initiate systemic reform efforts
at the undergraduate level. This new venture is designed
to prompt a re-examination of institutional priorities
and practices, including the allocation of resources
and integration of research and education. It builds
on previous NSF curriculum and institutional development
activities, such as the Course and Curriculum Development
Program, which has included calculus, chemistry, and
institution-wide reforms, and the Engineering Education
Coalitions, which aim at reform of the entire engineering
education process. The expected result will be significant
improvements in the science and mathematics education
received by all undergraduates.
Interagency Coordination of Federal SMET Education
Activities
The National Science Foundation actively collaborates
on science and mathematics education programming with
several federal R&D; agencies. As a member of the National
Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Committee on
Education and Training (CET), NSF participates in
efforts to coordinate federal science education programs.
For example, the Foundation aided in the design of
the Technology Learning Challenge that forms the basis
of the Administration's technology agenda. Likewise,
NSF jointly designed, managed, and funded the Third
International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)
of achievement and curriculum with the National Center
for Education Statistics in the Department of Education.
NSF works closely with other agencies concerned with
strengthening teaching and learning in mathematics
and science to ensure that its programs do not duplicate
other agencies' programs, but rather complement, and
link where appropriate, efforts to maximize the overall
impact of federal support for SMET education.
Education programs at NSF and the Department of Education
(DoED) are coordinated through an FY 1992 Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU). The MOU, targeted primarily
at efforts from pre-kindergarten through grade 12,
formalizes interactions for planning, information
exchange, and collaboration at a number of management
levels. Moreover, at the program level, agency staff
collaborate on common areas of interest especially
in the areas of professional development of teachers
and educational technologies. This collaboration ensures
that programs effectively complement one another and
enables a sharing of expertise that benefits both
organizations. For example, NSF-supported instructional
materials are examined by DoED-established expert
panels and included in information disseminated by
the Department through means such as the Eisenhower
Regional Consortia. Finally, staff from both agencies
regularly participate in proposal review panels for
each other's programs.
In a recent joint endeavor, the Department of Education
and the National Science Foundation established a
Working Group to Improve Mathematics and Science Education.
The interagency group's mandate, by Presidential Directive,
is to develop an action strategy to improve U.S. mathematics
and science education in conjunction with a voluntary
national test of mathematics achievement at grade
eight. This group has met regularly with staff of
the Domestic Policy Council, the Office of Science
and Technology Policy and other federal agencies concerned
with strengthening teaching and learning in mathematics
and science, and the working group's strategy is now
nearing completion.
Cooperation between the Department of Education and
NSF in SMET education respects the different missions
and approaches of the respective agencies. The bulk
of the Department's funds are distributed to state
and local educational agencies based on their meeting
eligibility requirements for programs with very broadly-based
educational objectives. On the other hand, the National
Science Foundation's projects result from unsolicited
proposals from individuals or organizations that survive
the test of rigorous competitive merit review process
in which proposals are evaluated by expert peer reviewers
according to specific criteria.
These differences in operational structure can be
used effectively as the two agencies cooperate and
coordinate their activities. NSF's competitive process
can provide the spark that state and local educational
agencies may need in order to initiate change in their
use of the Department's funds. Likewise, the Department's
capabilities for getting information into the hands
of teachers, parents, school administrators, and the
public can help NSF get its messages about SMET education
to a much broader audience. The progress made by the
current working group on improving mathematics and
science education can be codified in real operational
agreements through updating the MOU, if appropriate.
In a democratic society that is highly dependent on
science, engineering, and technology for its well-being,
all federal agencies must collaborate to ensure that
all Americans will have the knowledge and skills they
need to succeed in an increasingly technological world.
In SMET education, the link between inquiry, discovery
and learning is omnipresent. By stimulating and sustaining
ongoing professional development and teacher preparation,
the National Science Foundation helps teachers across
the nation to deliver the instruction necessary for
an increasingly technological and competitive world.
Furthermore, through building partnerships with educational
institutions, businesses and industry, foundations,
federal, state and local governments, the Foundation
leverages resources to ensure that the U.S. continues
to improve at the K-12 level and remains the best
in the world in higher education.
Through innovative, systemic approaches to education
and training at all levels, the National Science Foundation,
by collaborating with the Department of Education
and other agencies, has pushed the frontier of U.S.
education, striving continually to ensure that all
students are proficient in all disciplines of science
and mathematics and at all levels of education. Using
our respected competitive review process, NSF will
continue to hold to the highest standards in supporting
efforts to make the catalytic and systemic changes
needed to best prepare Americans of all ages for the
challenges of the twenty-first century.
See also: Hearing Summary
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