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American Kids Really Stink at Science, Obama Tells Nation
Filed under: In The News, Education: Tweens, Education: Teens
President Obama said America is trailing other nations when it comes to math and science education in his State of the Union address. Credit: Tim Sloan, AFP/Getty Images
In his State of the Union address Jan. 25, President Obama said the United States lags behind other nations in science and math education.
Duh.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. Good thing, too. America is not likely to produce a lot of rocket scientists in the next few years because -- wow! -- our kids really suck at science and math.
Obama probably read a real bummer of a report issued earlier in the day by the U.S. Department of Education about how most public school science students don't know their deoxyribonucleic acid from their gluteus maximus.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress looked at 156,500 fourth-graders (ages 9 to 10), 151,100 eighth-graders (ages 13 to 14) and 11,100 high school seniors (ages 17 to 18). Only 1 percent of fourth-graders, 2 percent of eighth-graders and 1 percent of high school seniors were advanced in science.
"The results released today show that our nation's students aren't learning at a rate that will maintain America's role as an international leader in the sciences," Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says in a press release. "When only 1 or 2 percent of children score at the advanced levels on NAEP, the next generation will not be ready to be world-class inventors, doctors and engineers."
But what's considered "advanced"?
Before graduating high school, an advanced science student should be able to recognize a nuclear fission reaction without saying, "That's the dangdest thing I ever saw. What the heck is that?"
By middle school, students should able to predict the sun's position in the sky without looking like they just got struck upside the head by a two-by-four. Even by the fourth-grade, kids should recognize that gravitational force constantly affects an object.
In other words, there's a reason Grandma can't fly.
What can fly, apparently, is some of these basic concepts as they whoosh over the heads of America's students.
"Meanwhile, nations like China and India realized that with some changes of their own, they could compete in this new world," Obama said in his State of the Union address. "And so they started educating their children earlier and longer with greater emphasis on math and science."
The good news is that America's kids aren't complete numbskulls yet. According to the report, 72 percent of fourth-graders, 63 percent of eighth-graders and 60 percent of high school seniors are still doing adequately in science class. Not great, mind you, but adequately.
Apparently, that's not good enough for the president. In his address, he called for 100,000 more science and technology teachers by the end of the decade.
"Our nation's long-term economic prosperity depends on providing a world-class education to all students, especially in mathematics and science," Duncan adds in the the press release.
Americans should take that as a challenge, Obama said in his address.
"The question is whether all of us -- as citizens and as parents -- are willing to do what's necessary to give every child a chance to succeed," he said.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
1-26-2011 @ 12:44PM
Vicki said...Half the country doesn't believe in evolution or global warming so of course we stink at science.
Reply
1-26-2011 @ 1:00PM
Michelle said...Parents really need to be involved in encouraging their kids in school. Helping them with their homework, asking them what they learned about, volunteering in class, and talking to the teacher are all essential.
Watching educational science-based programs on channels such as PBS or Discovery, or reading magazines and books with science topics for kids is also a fun way for you and your child to learn and explore science. From these, my kids have learned fun and interesting experiments to try at home, too.
In addition, perhaps our schools' standards for science based classes are just not high enough. Maybe schools need to give student more science information and science experiences at an earlier age, and all high schools should have AP science courses.
There are also many religious schools (many, but not all) that leave out certain science topics as it conflicts with their beliefs. I'm not sure if this is affecting the statistics, but I do think it is important for all religious schools to acknowledge that most science is real and proven, and is necessary for all students to experience, especially if they end up in a medical, agricultural, engineering or other science-based career someday.
Reply
1-26-2011 @ 2:31PM
Alicia said...To a point I agree that kids should be encouraged to watch and read educational programs and books, but that only helps so much. I spent my TV hours as a kid practically glued to Discovery Channel and Animal Planet and ate up books on the natural sciences, but I have never been good in science. Earth science and biology I was okay in, but Chemistry? Physics? Oh hell no. Kids need to think mathematically to get ahead in science and it's something that I could never do and I'm not sure it's something you can teach.
1-27-2011 @ 8:26PM
NW Girl said...Not every kid is going to be a rocket scientist. I mean, seriously, how many rocket scientist jobs are there? YES, kids should be exposed to all kinds of learning opportunities and some might spark a life-long interest. But I don't think 50 or 70% (random figures) actually need to be superior in math and science.
If you want your child to have a good opportunity to achieve great things in math, I suggest starting them with music at a young age. Music stimulates the same area of the brain that will give your kids the mental "muscle" to understand math more easily than if they aren't exposed to music. Music IS math is a sense.
1-26-2011 @ 1:10PM
Jillian said...You misconstrued a tiny bit when you claim that the study shows America's kids aren't "complete numbskulls". You cite the study as saying 72, 63 and 60% of 4th, 8th and 12th graders perform "aquequately". According to the study itself, this category is actually referred to as "basic", which they define as: "The Basic level denotes partial mastery of the knowledge and skills fundamental for proficient work at each grade." The study also states "...the ultimate achievement goal of all students performing at the Proficient level or higher," which means that the "basic" level cannot be construed as "adequately" since you personally did not design this study to define what is adequate and what is not.
Reply
1-26-2011 @ 1:11PM
Charlotte7224 said...Say it like it is....American public Education really stinks!!! Its so far behind, & yet; inspite of this, our esteemed leaders continue to cut
budgets in education, all across the country! So what else can we expect? Until the American people stand up & DEMAND appropriate financing for, not just education, but exceptional; forward thinking education, it will continue to sink into even further depths of ineffectiveness. Our kids can't spell, can't read on level, their math & science is way behind the rest of the educated world. Its time to force our leaders to put education first & foremost on the budget list; in all states; & hold the leaders accountable.
Reply
1-27-2011 @ 3:47PM
Godiva said..."Obama said We are the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers; of Google and Facebook.
And then the government outlawed Edison's great invention, made the Wright brothers' air travel insufferable, filed anti-trust charges against Microsoft and made cars too expensive to drive by prohibiting oil exploration, and right now -- at this very minute -- is desperately trying to regulate the Internet.
On the bright side, President Al Gore would have actually outlawed the cars in those driveways."
Reply