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STEM Education News

August 4, 2011

Volume 17, Number 29

This Week’s Topics:

– GATES SPEAKS TO IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION AT NUL ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Last week, national leaders in business, government, academia, and the arts met at the National Urban League’s (NUL) Annual Conference in Boston. The conference theme was “Jobs Rebuild America.” As part of the conference, Microsoft Founder and CEO and Philanthropist Bill Gates joined several others at a forum on education as part of the conference. Gates noted that “Education is the great equalizer.” He added that “the great equalizer in America is stained with inequality. Our public schools range from outstanding to outrageous. And where a child’s school is located on that spectrum is a matter of luck — where you live, when you were born, who your parents are. There is already enough in life that depends on luck. When it comes to education, we should replace luck with equity.” He also advised that we need to “end the myth that we have to solve poverty before we improve education. It’s the other way around. Improving education is one of the best ways to solve poverty.” He suggested that the “first step in reforming anything is to find out where that thing is being done well — and why.” He stressed that the impact of a teacher is pivotal, but that parents, principals, and administrators have an obligation to support teachers — “to provide them with the training and the college-ready curriculum and the resources they need to help their students.”

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people — especially those with the fewest resources — have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. More details on the educational programs of the Gates Foundation are online.

– STATE OUTCOMES IN MATH AND SCIENCE EDUCATION REVEAL BIG DISPARITIES

In a new ranking of how well the states’ K-12 schools are preparing their students for science and engineering careers, Massachusetts leads the pack, while Mississippi trails behind as ‘worst in the United States.’ The rankings are reported in the summer issue of the Newsletter of the Forum on Education of the American Physical Society. “We’re not trying to criticize the states at the bottom,” says Susan White of the Statistical Research Center at Triangle Coalition member, the American Institute of Physics (AIP), who developed the new Science and Engineering Readiness Index (SERI) with physicist Paul Cottle of Florida State University (FSU). “But states need to know how they’re doing in order to improve.” Unlike other state rankings of science education that concentrate on making all students scientifically literate, the SERI uniquely focuses on the high school subjects that research says are most important to future scientists and engineers — physics and calculus. The SERI is calculated from publicly available data, including Advanced Placement results, National Assessment of Educational Progress reports, teacher certification requirements by state, and data on high school physics class enrollment gathered by AIP.

The final SERI score indicates, on a scale of 1 to 5, how each state measures up to others in physics and math education and teacher qualifications. Massachusetts easily bested all other states with a score of 4.82, while Mississippi came in at 1.11. Twenty-one states in total, including California, earned below or far below average scores, while only 10 states earned scores above the national average. “The rankings show that there are a small number of high-performers, but that most states are doing a poor job of preparing students to earn science or technology degrees,” says Cottle, who notes that students in his own introductory physics classes at FSU face a high risk of doing poorly if they have not taken physics in high school. “Physics education is important,” adds Cottle, “not only because it prepares individual students to enter high-paying professions, but also because it is vital to maintaining U.S. economic competitiveness in growing fields, such as clean energy and biotechnology.” AIP is an organization of 10 physical science societies, representing more than 135,000 scientists, engineers, and educators and is one of the world’s largest publishers of scientific information in physics. More details are at www.aip.org.

– STATES BEGIN REPORTING UNIFORM GRADUATION RATE, REVEAL MORE ACCURATE HIGH-SCHOOL COMPLETION OUTCOMES

The U.S. Department of Education has announced that this summer states will begin reporting high school graduation rates for the 2010-2011 school year using a more rigorous, uniform four-year adjusted cohort, first developed by the nation’s Governors in 2005. Transition to the common rate reflects states’ efforts to generate greater uniformity and transparency in calculating high school graduation data, and meets requirements of a federal regulation established in October 2008. Since data reporting requirements were implemented under No Child Left Behind, states have calculated graduation rates using varying methods, creating inconsistent data from one state to the next. The transition to a uniform high school graduation rate requires all states to report the number of students who graduate in four years with a regular high school diploma, divided by the number of students who entered high school four years earlier, and accounting for student transfers in and out of school. States may also opt to use an extended-year adjusted cohort, allowing states, districts, and schools to account for students who complete high school in more than four years.

“A common rate will help target support so more students graduate on-time by using more accurate data,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “It will also encourage states to account for students who need more than four years to earn a diploma.” In addition, schools must maintain documentation for students who have transferred. States will continue to report graduation rates at the high school, district, and state levels including rates for subgroups of students. The new measurement holds schools accountable for students who drop out and others who don’t earn a regular high school diploma. The Department anticipates that the more rigorous method will result in lower reported graduation rates, yet it will reflect a more accurate calculation of how many U.S. students complete high school. “Through this uniform method, states are raising the bar on data standards, and simply being more honest,” added Duncan. Graduation rates for the 2010-2011 school year will be reported throughout the summer and fall on a state-by-state basis. States are publicly reporting graduation rates using the new four-year adjusted cohort rate now, however rates resulting from this new method will not be used for accountability purposes until the 2011-2012 school year.

– TOP U.S. SCIENCE TEACHERS ATTEND THE 2011 SSP FELLOWS INSTITUTE

The ten teachers selected in March as part of Society for Science & the Public’s (SSP) 2011 class of the SSP Fellowship recently attended a Fellows Institute in Washington, D.C. The Fellows Institute provides intensive training to teachers and enables each Fellow to earn graduate level credit for their work. competitively selected from a large entrant pool of high school science and math teachers from 42 states and American Samoa, each Fellow will receive: (1) $8,500 in 2011 directly for their classroom and community; (2) full support to attend the Fellows Institute held July 25-29, 2011 in Washington, DC; and (3) ongoing training and resources from SSP. Successful participants can retain their Fellowship for up to four years to ensure that promising students can pursue independent research through their high school years. The 2011 class of Fellows includes teachers selected from rural and urban areas, large and small communities, and schools that serve under-resourced communities. Through a generous grant from Intel, the SSP Fellowship provides funds and training to selected U.S. science and math teachers who serve under-resourced students, to enable interested and motivated students to perform high-quality, independent scientific research. The program began with its first class in 2009. SSP Fellows design independent research programs to be implemented in their schools and help their students to develop a strong network of scientific mentors.

Society for Science & the Public is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the achievement of young researchers in independent research and to the public engagement in science. Established in 1921, its vision is to promote the understanding and appreciation of science and the vital role it plays in human advancement. Through its acclaimed education competitions, including the Intel Science Talent Search, the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, and the Broadcom MASTERS, and its award-winning publications, Science News, which reaches more than 120,000 subscribers, and Science News for Kids, SSP is committed to inform, educate, inspire. Additional information about the SSP Fellowship is at www.societyforscience.org/outreach. The application for the 2012 Fellowship will open in November, 2011.

– NASA IT SUMMIT REACHES FOR “STELLAR” RESULTS

NASA is gearing up for a conference in San Francisco that aims to improve the quality of Information Technology (IT) at the agency, while drawing on the expertise and innovative spirit of California’s Silicon Valley. The second NASA IT Summit will take place August 15-17 at San Francisco’s Marriott Marquis Hotel. The theme of this year’s event is, “Making IT Stellar at NASA.” NASA’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) Linda Cureton will host the event. The summit will feature some of the biggest companies in the computer world, speeches from leading IT thinkers, and a strong education component aimed at getting American teens excited about science, technology, engineering, and math. The next generation of explorers at the summit will learn about NASA internships and scholarships; participate in hands-on science activities; meet with tech experts; and view demonstrations by major IT vendors.

During the conference, NASA’s Office of the CIO will host a luncheon titled, “Pearls of Wisdom: Our Braided Lives,” in support of a White House initiative to meet the challenges faced by U.S. women and girls. At the event, women from NASA, business, industry, federal agencies, and academia will meet with female high school students to foster mentoring relationships. Students also can attend the panel discussion titled, “Education Blast-Off,” with former NASA astronaut Leland Melvin, who now is the agency’s associate administrator for Education, and Vernice Armour, the first African-American female combat pilot. Social media will be integral to the event. Many sessions will be live streamed on the Web.

– ENGINEERING INNOVATION CENTER BRINGS TOGETHER TOOLS TO LAUNCH FUTURE ENTREPRENEURS

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a $10 million grant over five years to launch a national center based at Stanford University for teaching innovation and entrepreneurship in engineering. Directed by the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP), the entrepreneurship center at Stanford’s School of Engineering, the new national center addresses the critical need for innovative and entrepreneurial engineers across the United States. The center, which begins operation in September 2011, will catalyze major changes in undergraduate engineering programs by developing an education, research, and outreach hub for the creation, collection, and sharing of innovation and entrepreneurship resources among the almost 350 engineering schools in the U.S. The center will actively engage participation by U.S. faculty and students in helping create the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs and conduct an on-going assessment to enhance its impact and reach.

To augment NSF funding and provide additional real world experience, the center has established a set of corporate partners, including some of the most innovative companies and venture capital firms in the U.S., including Accel Partners; Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ); Edison International; IDEO; Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers; Microsoft; MWH Global; Raytheon; and the X-Prize Foundation. These partners will provide resources for curriculum development, dissemination tools and student access to industry mentors. More details are at http://stvp.stanford.edu.

– ASCD EDGE SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORK EXPANDS

ASCD EDge, a social networking tool empowering educators to support the success of each learner, recently celebrated the addition of its 25,000th member. The platform is supported by ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) and is free and open to all — teachers, principals, administrators, researchers, school staff, authors, and any professional who works or has an interest in education. Launched in December 2009, ASCD EDge empowers users to create a profile and connect with friends and colleagues. Topical blog posts involve members of the community in a vibrant discussion on the topics that interest educators. ASCD EDge also strives to build a robust community of educators with engaging interest groups such as Web 2.0, How the Brain Learns, 21st Century Learning, Social Networking, Professional Interest Communities, Young Professional Educators, Overseas and International Schools, and Student Motivation.

“We’re thrilled to be home to the more than 25,000 educators on ASCD EDge,” explains Timothy Ito, ASCD’s website director. “When we launched, our goal was to create a true online community for all educators. We envisioned a place where teachers and administrators could share best practices and connect with others, including authors, researchers, experts, and more, all in a safe and structured environment.” For more information about ASCD EDge visit http://ascdedge.ascd.org.

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