Rising Above the Storm: Science Education in the 21st Century

Science education plays a critical role in U.S. competitiveness and America’s future economic prosperity. The most recent employment projections by the U.S. Department of Labor show that of the 20 fastest growing occupations projected for 2014, 15 of them require significant science or mathematics preparation. America ’s global competitiveness will increasingly depend on its ability to better educate young people in the sciences.

The National Science Teachers Association, the largest organization in the world promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all, believes that a strong federal commitment to improve science education is vital.

All stakeholders must work to strengthen effective science education programs at the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, and other federal agencies with STEM-related programs; provide additional funding to help improve the content knowledge skills and professional development of preK–16 teachers; improve the resources available in science classrooms; and support new and innovative initiatives to recruit and retain highly skilled science teachers.

Increase the Quality of PreK–12 Science Teachers by Including Dedicated Funding for Teacher Professional Development

Researchers agree that teacher quality is the most important factor affecting student achievement. Good teachers can make all the difference in closing achievement gaps for low-income and minority students. What teachers know and can do has the most influence on what students learn.

Ongoing professional development for science teachers is critical to ensuring a quality teacher for every student. Under current federal education law states and districts can use Title II Teacher Quality funds for a variety of purposes. The reality is that even though state and local decision makers see the need for intense professional development, they often find themselves pushed to address other priorities, forcing these funds to be spent on efforts other than this Congressionally intended investment.

An ongoing guarantee of professional development funding is critical to science educators who face the challenges of using data to modify classroom techniques, research to inform instruction, and ongoing motivation and creativity to teach every child in every classroom. NSTA strongly encourages the inclusion of language in any future federal education bill stipulating that districts must spend a designated portion of their Title II Teacher Quality funds specifically on science and math education teacher professional development.

We also support the creation or expansion of specific programs under the federal education law that would address critical needs in science education, including grants to create science specialist programs for K–8 schools; programs that would bring more STEM professionals into teaching; programs to bring more scientists, engineers, and STEM professionals into the classrooms to work as mentors for teachers and role models for students; and more research experiences for teachers and students. NSTA supports increased funding for the Title II B Math and Science Partnerships to underwrite more state-based STEM reform projects.

Finally, there must also be a national dialogue on how teachers are compensated. Science and math teachers—especially those with science and mathematics degrees and experience in industry—face an ever-growing gap between the salaries they could receive in science and technology fields and salaries they could receive while in teaching positions. Programs that would provide differential compensation or incentives for teachers in math and science subjects, especially those teachers in high-risk districts, must be considered.

Increase the Quantity and Quality of PreK–12 Science Teachers by Funding the America COMPETES Act

Many districts are facing challenges in recruiting and keeping qualified science educators in the classroom. At the end of the 2000 school year more than 45,000 science and math teachers left teaching. Unlike the fields of English and social studies, the fields of science and math do not have a large number of new teaching candidates.

When Congress passed the America COMPETES Act in 2007, it signaled the importance of providing increased funding for STEM education initiatives, particularly programs that address science teacher supply, demand, and quality.

We ask that Congress and the Administration fulfill the commitments made in the America COMPETES Act by providing sufficient funding for the science and math initiatives in the law including

• Programs for Baccalaureate Degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics or Critical Languages with Concurrent Teacher Certification;
• Programs for Master’s Degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics;
• The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program;
• Laboratory Science Pilot Program; and
• Math and Science Partnerships.

Continued support for National Science Foundation Education and Human Directorate math and science education programs is also critical. These programs are designed to support and improve U.S. STEM education at all levels and in all settings—both formal and informal (science centers, aquaria, afterschool science programs, zoos, natural history museums and others)—and are unique in their capacity to move promising ideas from research to practice, to develop new and improved materials and assessments, to explore new uses of technology to enhance K-12 instruction, and to create better teacher training techniques.

Improve Measures of Science Learning

A recent Center for Education Progress (CEP) report found that as a result of No Child Left Behind approximately 62% of school districts increased the amount of time spent in elementary schools on reading/language arts and/or math and that 44% of districts cut time on elementary science instruction.

Under NCLB student scores in math and reading count toward a school’s Adequate Yearly Progress. Science education is tested under NCLB, and science scores must be reported, but science scores do not count toward a school’s accountability measures.

Science is a core subject that all students should learn and for which all schools should be held accountable; therefore, NSTA believes that the results of science assessments must be included as a component of any accountability system. NSTA strongly urges that language that would include science scores as a required component of a school/state accountability system is considered during reauthorization of the federal education law.

States should be encouraged to assess student performance, skill, and knowledge in the sciences using a variety of proven measures that would enable students to demonstrate what they can do in science.

Leverage National Efforts to Improve STEM Education

Establishing an Office of STEM Education at the Department of Education will raise the prominence and place greater emphasis on STEM education within the department. The new Assistant Secretary of STEM Education would serve as a much needed point of contact for other federal agencies (including NSF) and states engaged in STEM education initiatives.

Reorganizing the current Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to create a standing Committee on STEM Educationwith the responsibility to coordinate all federal STEM education programs will bring visibility and credibility to STEM initiatives and work to ensure these federal programs are an efficient use of federal funds. It is critical that all federal agencies with STEM initiatives—especially the U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation (NSF)—work to ensure that the best practices, exemplary models, and programs that improve student achievement are shared and widely replicated.

Inspire Americans to Excel in, and Embrace, Science and Engineering

While a growing number of policy makers and business leaders recognize the importance of strengthening science education to ensure the nation's future economic competitiveness, recent surveys have documented that American parents fail to view science education as a preeminent issue facing their schools or their child's future. In fact, even though American students test below average against 21 leading countries, less than one-third of Americans believe that math and science classes are very relevant to life after graduation. Worse yet, 70% of high school parents believe their child already receives the right amount of science and math.

Clearly, America needs a 21st-century version of Sputnik to help educate parents and the public at large about the risks facing their children and the nation’s future. Helping Americans to make science education a national priority and inspiring more students to pursue science and engineering will require a national campaign centered on the critical importance of science literacy and expertise for the nation’s future.