Washington Should Lead the Way

So finds a panel seeking to solve the math and science problem

The national scandal is as well documented as it is alarming. Half of all U.S. high school students take no math or science beyond the tenth grade, and half of all teachers hired to teach math and science at the secondary level are not certified in those disciplines. Hoping to find ways to make education for high technology a top national priority, Governor James Hunt of North Carolina and Dr. David Hamburg, president of the Carnegie Corporation, assembled a blue-ribbon panel of 50 business, education and government leaders. Last week the coalition issued a report declaring that the present economic challenge from Japan and other countries is "more profound than Sputnik." The Federal Government, the group insists, must take the leadership to provide an educational system that meets the needs of our technological economy. Concludes the report: "The failure to attend to our educational system is the equivalent of unilateral disarmament."

The panel, which includes Rockefeller Foundation President Richard W. Lyman and University of California President-elect David P. Gardner, urges Washington to strive to improve mathematical and scientific literacy for the general population and to develop high-level skills, including a knowledge of foreign languages, among the most talented. The report calls on Washington to provide incentives, such as tax breaks, matching funds and loan programs, to encourage partnerships between state and local governments and corporations. The coalition argues that top-level scientists should be tapped to help develop a school curriculum and that teachers should be provided with regular opportunities to upgrade their skills.

The panel's recommendations for enhancing the role of the Federal Government in education run contrary to the direction of the Reagan Administration. But the group hopes that its suggestions are broad enough to avoid an ideological confrontation. Says William Carey, executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a participant in the study: "The recommendation is for a catalytic federal role, not a directing one."

Massachusetts Senator Paul Tsongas, a Democrat who is also a member of the panel, has introduced a $500 million bill that would, through matching grants, try to induce states and businesses to help pay for precollege programs, improve facilities and train teachers. The bill has some conservative backing. Because of the state of the economy, explains Tsongas, "there is a drumbeat of concern among chief executive officers around the country."

Last month, by a vote of 348 to 54, the House whizzed through a bill that would spend $425 million to improve science and math programs in schools and colleges and fund teacher training. Another 15 bills have been introduced in the Senate, including two by presidential candidates, Ohio's John Glenn and Colorado's Gary Hart, that would greatly increase the federal role in education. The Administration, however, has been backing a science-and mathematics-teacher development act, sponsored by Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, a conservative Republican, that would spend just $50 million. Some Republican conservatives, like Illinois Congressman John Erlenborn, fear that more federal control of curriculum could lead to "political indoctrination."

The bill with the best chance of passing the Senate is sponsored by Rhode Island Democrat Claiborne Pell and Vermont Republican Robert Stafford. Of the bill's $400 million, 65% would go to math, science, computer and foreign-language programs in schools and 35% to teacher-training and technological programs in colleges.

Secretary of Education Terrel Bell has said he will urge a presidential veto if the final bill to emerge from Congress is "just another federal aid to education bill, with the money spread around." And despite the growing interest on Capitol Hill in improving the teaching of math and science, a bill could be vetoed on the basis of cost alone. The Administration wants to hold the price to $70 million. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.