DOCUMENT RESUME ED 446 972 SE 064 222 TITLE Why and How You Should Learn Math and Science. Hearing before the Committee on Science, House of Representatives, One Hundred Sixth Congress, First Session. INSTITUTION Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. House Committee on Science. REPORT NO House-Hrg-106-21 ISBN ISBN-0-16-059451-0 PUB DATE 1999-03-17 NOTE 279p. PUB TYPE Legal/Legislative/Regulatory Materials (090) EDRS PRICE MFO1 /PC12 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Educational Change; Elementary Secondary Education; Federal Government; *Federal Legislation; Hearings; *Mathematics Education; *Relevance (Education); *Science Education IDENTIFIERS Congress 106th ABSTRACT This document presents the hearing before the Committee on Science in the House of Representatives on why and how math and science should be learned. It includes oral opening statements by various House representatives. Appendix 1 presents written opening statements from members of the subcommittee on basic research. Appendix 2 features written testimony, biographies, financial disclosures, and answers to post-hearing questions. Materials for the record are listed in the third appendix and include "Preparing Our Children: Math and Science r:Aucation in the National Interest" and "Winning the Skills Race: A Council on Competitiveness Report on Mathematics and Science Education". (ASX) POOR PRINTUAL1 Pgs Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. WHY AND HOW YOU SHOULD LEARN MATH AND SCIENCE 7r LT4 HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION MARCH 17, 1999 Serial No. 106-21 Printed for the use of the Committee on Science U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 58-108 WASHINGTON : 1999 For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington, DC 20402 ISBN 0-16-059451-0 t. AVAILABLE 2. BEST COPY COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE HON. F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR., Chairman SHERWOOD L. BOEHLERT, New York GEORGE E. BROWN, JR., California LAMAR SMITH, Texas RALPH M. HALL, Texas CONSTANCE A. MORELLA, Maryland BART GORDON, Tennessee CURT WELDON, Pennsylvania JERRY F. COSTELLO, Illinois DANA ROHRABACHER, California JAMES A. BARCIA, Michigan JOE BARTON, Texas EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas KEN CALVERT, California LYNN C. WOOLSEY, California NICK SMITH, Michigan LYNN N. RIVERS, Michigan ROSCOE G. BARTLETT, Maryland ZOE LOFGREN, California VERNON J. EHLERS, Michigan MICHAEL F. DOYLE, Pennsylvania DAVE WELDON, Florida SHEILA JACKSON-LEE, Texas GIL GUTKNECHT, Minnesota DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan THOMAS W. EWING, Illinois BOB ETHERIDGE, North Carolina CHRIS CANNON, Utah NICK LAMPSON, Texas KEVIN BRADY, Texas JOHN B. LARSON, Connecticut MERRILL COOK, Utah MARK UDALL, Colorado GEORGE R NETHERCUTT, JR., WashingtonDAVID WU, Oregon FRANK D. LUCAS, Oklahoma ANTHONY D. WEINER, New York MARK GREEN, Wisconsin MICHAEL E. CAPUANO, Massachusetts STEVEN T. KUYKENDALL, California BRIAN BAIRD, Washington GARY G. MILLER, California JOSEPH M. HOEFFEL, Pennsylvania JUDY BIGGERT, Illinois DENNIS MOORE, Kansas MARSHALL "MARK" SANFORD, South Carolina JACK METCALF, Washington CONTENTS Page Oral Opening Statement by Representative F. James Sensenbrenner, Chair- man, Committee on Science, U.S. House ofRepresentatives 1 Oral Opening Statement by Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson,Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on Basic Research, U.S. House ofRep- resentatives 2 Oral Opening Statement by Representative Vernon Ehlers, Vice-Chairman, Committee on Science, U.S. House of Representatives 3 Oral Opening Statement by Representative George Brown, RankingMinority Member, Committee on Science, U.S. House of Representatives 5 PANEL Dr. Vera Rubin, Member, National Science Board: Oral Testimony 7 Dr. Rodger Bybee, Executive Director, Center for Science, Mathand Engi- neering Education: Oral Testimony 8 Dr. Joan Ferrini-Mundy, Associate Executive Director, Center forScience, Math and Engineering Education: Oral Testimony 10 Ms. Amy Kas low, Senior Fellow, Council on Competitiveness: Oral Testimony 12 Dr. Shirley Malcom, Director or Education and Human Resources,American Association for the Advancement of Science: Oral Testimony 15 Mr. John E. Harrison, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ecutel:Oral Testimony 16 Discussion/Questions 18 Appendix 1: Written Opening Statements from Members of the Subcommittee on Basic Research Opening Statement by Representative F. James Sensenbrenner, Chairman, Committee on Science, U.S. House of Representatives 40 Opening Statement by Representative Vernon Ehlers, Vice-Chairman, Com- mittee on Science, U.S. House of Representatives 41 Opening Statement by Representative Nick Smith, Chairman, Subcommittee on Basic Research, U.S. House of Representatives 45 Opening Statement by Representative Judy Biggert, Vice-Chairwoman, Sub- committee on Basic Research, U.S. House of Representatives 46 Opening Statement by Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, Ranking Mi- nority Member, Subcommittee on Basic Research, U.S. House of Represent- atives 47 Opening Statement by Representative Bob Etheridge, Member, Committee on Science, U.S. House of Representatives 50 Opening Statement by Representative Debbie Stabenow, Member, Committee on Science, U.S. House of Representatives 52 Opening Statement by Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee, Member,Com- mittee on Science, U.S. House of Representatives 54 Appendix 2: Written Testimony, Biographies, Financial Disclosures, and Answers to Post-Hearing Questions Dr. Vera Rubin, Member, National Science Board: Written Testimony 57 Biography 65 Answers to Post-Hearing Questions 66 Iv Page Dr. Rodger Bybee, Executive Director, Center for Science, Math and Engi- neering Education and Dr. Joan Ferrini-Mundy, Associate Executive Direc- tor, Center for Science, Math and Engineering Education: Written Testimony 69 Biography for Dr. Roger Bybee 83 Biography for Dr. Joan Ferrini-Mundy 84 Financial Disclosure 85 Answers to Post-Hearing Questions 87 Ms. Amy Kas low, Senior Fellow, Council on Competitiveness: Written Testimony 95 Biography 98 Financial Disclosure 100 Answers to Post-Hearing Questions 101 Dr. Shirley Malcom, Director of Education and Human Resources, American Association for the Advancement of Science: Written Testimony 109 Biography 121 Financial Disclosure 122 Answers to Post-Hearing Questions 123 Mr. John E. Harrison, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ecutel: Written Testimony 135 Biography 137 Financial Disclosure 138 Appendix 3: Material for the Record Additional Material from Representative Bob Etheridge, Member, Committee on Science, U.S. House of Representatives, "Color Blind"; The New Repub- lic, March 29, 1999 edition 140 Preparing Our Children: Math and Science Education In the National Inter- est. An NSB Report on Mathematics and Science Achievement 147 Winning the Skills Race. A Council on Competitiveness Report on Mathe- matics and Science Education 181 HEARING ON WHY AND HOW YOU SHOULD LEARN MATH AND SCIENCE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 1999 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, Washington, DC. The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:00 a.m., in room 2318, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. F. James Sensen- brenner (Chairman of the Committee) presiding. Chairman SENSENBRENNER[presiding].The Committee on Science will come to order. Today, I want to welcome everyone here today for the first in a series of hearings the Science Committee will be holding on science, math, engineering, and technology education. As you may know, last year I charged Congressman Ehlers with developing an approach to a new national science policy. As a re- sult of over a year's work, the Committee released the study, "Unlocking Our Future: Toward a New National Science Policy," a major focus of which is math and science education. As the report notes, math and science education is the road that will ensure American preeminence in technology and prepare American stu- dents to be able employees, smart consumers, and engaged citizens. I am pleased that the Committee is following up on this aspectof the Science Policy Study, as education is one of the most important issues we must address. By now it is old news that U.S. students are not performing to the level of their peers around the world. In fact, U.S. students per- form near the bottom. Clearly, American children are not receiving an adequate education in math andscience, and we as a Nation should be concerned. We can and must do a better job of preparing our young people for the 21st centuryand we have an obligation to see that students receive the education they will need if they are to compete and win in the global marketplace of the future. This series of hearings will serve as a comprehensive examina- tion of current science and math education, the directions science and math education may take in the future, and programmatic re- forms that may be necessary to ensure graduates of U.S. schools are well prepared. The examinationwill require assessing the cur- rent situation and understanding the specific weaknesses in our education systems. The most technologically advanced