an “incomplete” in math and science

The logo for the National Math and Science Initiative

ExxonMobil is donating this week's op-ed space to the National Math and Science Initiative.

April 29, 2008

American students need Congressional support to make the grade.

If your child brought home a report card with scores like these, wouldn’t you be concerned?

  • Barely 18 percent of American high school seniors perform at or above proficiency in science.
  • Less than 10 percent of American engineers are women, and only 21 percent of computer science Ph.D.s were awarded to women in 2006.
  • Eighteen other countries ranked higher than the United States in math education in a recent OECD study of 31 industrialized countries.

Two years ago, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine reported on the state of education in the United States, and found that American students were failing to acquire the math and science skills essential to competing in the global economy.

Their report, entitled “Rising Above the Gathering Storm,” warned that the United States has lost its seat at the top of the class, and urged the private and public sectors to take immediate action to reverse this trend.

The National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) was created in response. We are a non-profit organization whose mission is to “scale-up” programs that have been shown to boost math and science education in schools nationwide. So far, we have awarded grants to non-profits in 20 states — and non-profits from another 28 states have applied.

That progress would not be possible without the financial support of the private sector. ExxonMobil has led the way with a $125 million grant — the largest-ever corporate gift for U.S. math and science education. The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have also pledged their support.

Further success is not possible, however, without stronger support from our federal government. Last year, Congress passed legislation called “Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science,” or the COMPETES Act. But Congress has yet to appropriate funding for it.

If we simply redirected part of the billions already being spent on unproven programs toward the proven ones highlighted by the National Academies, we could dramatically improve math and science education in all 50 states and at 100 universities. In five years, we could train 10,000 new teachers, 100,000 current teachers, and 10 million students.

Today, the National Academies and NMSI are hosting a summit of leaders in education, government and business in Washington, D.C. to report on the challenges ahead. As a nation, we are earning an “incomplete” grade — the private sector is rising to the challenge, but the public sector is not. If American students are going to make the grade in math and science, they need more Congressional support.