U.S. Grade School Achievement in Science

By U.S. News Staff

February 1, 2011 RSS Feed Print

Comment (4)
Tweet

President Barack Obama's State of the Union address focused attention on the country's international competitiveness, challenging the United States to invest in education--particularly in science and math--and calling the educators "nation builders." He said the country need a new "Sputnik moment," referring to the U.S. reaction to the Soviet Union sending the first man-made satellite into space. The final result of this reactive investment and innovation? The United States put a man on the moon, effectively winning the space race. What's the current state of the U.S. education system? Take a look at the percentage of fourth, eighth, and 12th graders in 2009 who scored basic, proficient, and advanced in science.

Tags:: State of the Union,; education reform,; education,; Barack Obama,; K-12 education

Reader Comments Read all comments (4)

Add Your Thoughts Comment Name State Email

Please enter the two words below into the text field underneath the image.

Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.

There really is only one metric which counts when it comes to educational achievement of a nation: what are its students producing? The school system trains worker drones at the expense of creative thought, and it does so at the nation's peril.
Does anyone care what grades Larry Page, Albert Einstein, or, for that matter, Karl Jenkins received now? Graduating valedictorian doesn't earn you success or advance the nation when the assignments are preconceived. Going out there and *doing something new* opens up new areas of progress, whether you're an entrepreneur, a scientist, or even a composer. You can do some pretty neat things with thousands of technically strong yet unoriginal people backing you up, but if they're all marching to one beat you're going to primarily see fast progress on one thing rather than more generalized advances.
Our system of education simply isn't using the proper metrics to maximize innovation. Because the prevailing metric is what almost any system optimizes for, that means our schools are not designed to produce innovators.

Michael of NJ 1:07AM February 10, 2011

Are you aware, that several corporations in China, for instance, demand our patents as part of their trade agreements? It will be hard to hold the line on maintaining a competitive advantage without iron-clad restrictions on U.S. patents.
Do you think, Luther of LA, that corporations are less concerned about selling our patents, but MOST concerned about profit-making? I, personally, believe that corporate profits best benefit corporations, and their choice of profit takes precedence over shielding U.S. patents.
If so, I am afraid the decline of U.S. innovation and the rise of the East is, already, a foregone conclusion. Shame on us for tolerating the Supreme Court decision that made U.S. citizens of our corporations. Corporations now hold the power to trade where and how they want, vote for the U.S. political candidates that best honor corporate directives, and out-vote any HUMAN BEING in the U.S., on any day of the week. I am sorry to say that we, already, have entered into the age of "Corporate Oligarchy."
Wait a minute! Pardon my mistake! According to Wikipedia, an explanation of Fascism is: "seek(ing) to organize a nation according to corporate perspectives, values, and systems, including the political system and the economy...." So, is it possible that we are a Corporate Fascist Oligarchy? Most scholars who study Fascism say that "Fascists (the Fascist State) also believe that economic classes are not capable of properly governing a nation...only the elite are capable " Does anyone recognize this attitude in the U.S.?
Investigate the residents and "friends" of the C Street Residence, in Washington D.C. I DO know the leader of this "religious" organization believes that only the elite should be running this country. Their interests are also invested in corporate power.

Ann Keenan of MI 6:38PM February 06, 2011

It may be necessary to disaggregate the math and science scores to arrive at a far different picture about math and science ability in the U.S. Most foreign countries already do that, so you do not see those scores that are below the average in that country. Most Asian countries literally track their students into careers based on their ability to do math and science. The United States merely averages the scores of all students.
Some Asian countries, for instance, award high-achieving high school students with colleges that actually "give them a break" from the rigors of high school. In the United States, our math and science programs are more rigorous at the college level, and an Asian student who studies in the United States, at one of our colleges, is at a greater advantage than Asian student who study in their own country.

anna banana of MI 5:37PM February 06, 2011

U.S. Grade School Achievement in Science

Reader Comments Read all comments (4)

Rankings Lists

U.S. News & World Report

Sections

U.S. Grade School Achievement in Science

Related News

You might be interested in...

Reader Comments Read all comments (4)

Cartoons

Follow U.S. News

Like Us On Facebook

Latest Videos

Subscribe

Rankings Lists

U.S. News & World Report

Sections