6 July 2011
Best & Worst States For Math Education
Posted by Dan Satterfield
SERI data compiled by Statistical Research Center at AIP.
Below, is the press release that accompanied the image above. Considering, that a recent study showed that the U.S. is 23rd out of 65 countries surveyed in math, even the highest scoring states have little to be proud of.
State Outcomes in Math and Science Education Reveal Big Disparities
College Park, MD, July 1, 2011 — 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 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 publically 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, says 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. In 2007, the National Academies released a report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm, which examined the state of U.S. science and technology. The report concluded the United States is in danger of losing its technological edge, and recommended steps, such as improving K-12 science education, to help reverse worrying trends. Despite wide-spread support, a follow-up report, issued in 2010, found little progress had been made on the recommended steps.
The SERI scores do not show how states’ educational outcomes compare with international standards, but even Massachusetts would have a hard time competing with countries such as China or Singapore, Cottle says. He points to a study published in Science in 2009 that shows “yawning gaps” between the physics knowledge of U.S. college freshman and their Chinese counterparts, based on tests taken before the students received college-level physics instruction.
Cottle says he hopes that the SERI scores serve as a wake-up call for policy makers who don’t see physics as a necessary college prerequisite. “We are aiming to change that belief,” he says. “If we are going to turn our economy around, we need to reemphasize technological innovation.”
[…] post: Best & Worst States For Math Education – AGU Blogosphere This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged easily-bested, how-each, qualifications, […]
[…] the article for your reading pleasure. Where does your state […]
[…] According to a statement last week, Cottle said that although the SERI scores do not compare states to schools’ performances in other countries, even the American leader — Massachusetts — would struggle to compete with countries like China or Singapore. […]
Why is Texas in so much better shape than California, and Texas has no income tax?…
In a nutshell, CAs government policies and fiscal infrastructure are dysfunctional. Democratic lawmakers in the state favor increased government revenue through new taxation, while Republican lawmakers favor decreased government spending for balancing …
How did California get into such a budget mess?…
In a nutshell, CAs government policies and fiscal infrastructure are dysfunctional. Democratic lawmakers in the state favor increased government revenue through new taxation, while Republican lawmakers favor decreased government spending for balancing …
What I notice is that perforce is better in the states where teachers are organized, where as the poorest performers are nonunion teachers..odd huh?
Am not sure how true that is. Any evidence to back it up?? There is no doubt we need to pay our teachers better and also no doubt that some are poor performers and should not be in the classroom. The really good ones should be paid well enough to make being a great teacher a well paying job that has a high profile in the community.
[…] American Geophysical Union in 2011 released its Science and Engineering Readiness Index (SERI), and Mississppi came in dead […]
[…] 2011 study ranked Alabama as “far below average” in preparing students for careers in science and engineering. Legislators […]
[…] will help move Louisiana from the bottom of math and science rankings in the country is unclear. A 2011 study of how well primary education prepares students for engineering careers had Louisiana third from […]
One very simple explanation is to go by the gas pump and fill up the tank. Big Oil has pumped trillions into Texas since 2000. The other 49 States are subsidizing Texas and their fossil fuel conspirarcy.
[…] will help move Louisiana from the bottom of math and science rankings in the country is unclear. A 2011 study of how well primary education prepares students for engineering careers had Louisiana third from […]
[…] Perhaps, not surprisingly, Mississippi also gets another prize: worst state for math and science education. […]
[…] Well, your user name pretty much explains that. My children graduated from public schools and mastered all that stuff you mentioned by oh, fourth grade or so. Best & Worst States For Math Education – Dan's Wild Wild Science Journal – AGU Blogosphere […]