Re: [ca-resisters] Math and Competitiveness

[gbracey1@verizon.net]

 Sorry, there is an error in the URL.  The separation of the English 
and German titles should be with a / not a .  Andthe u in the German 
title should be preceded by a z.

JB


On Wed, Jul 23, 2008 at  7:56 PM, gbracey1@verizon.net wrote:

>
 There are other sources that are more thorough.  The book, Pisa 
According to Pisa, is a devastating analysis of PISA. 
www.univie.ac.at/pisaaccordingtopisa.pisaufolgepisa.pdf.

"unvie" is the University of Vienna where the editors of the book hang 
out.

On Wed, Jul 23, 2008 at  6:47 PM, Horace B Lucido wrote:

> These two sources may help some come to a more informed conclussion 
> about this issue:
What’s in a Score?
American students don’t score at the top of the class in math and 
science compared with students from other industrialized countries. 
They’re average, and sometimes below average.
Does that matter? Not a bit, says Keith Baker, a former U.S. Education 
Department analyst, and he says he can prove it.
In an article due to be published later this year, Baker looks at how 
well math scores predict the performance of a nation’s economy. The 
answer: They don’t.
Baker’s analysis begins with the scores of the 12-year-olds from 11 
industrialized nations who took part in the First International Math 
Study (FIMS) in 1964. American students came in second to last, ahead of 
only Sweden. Baker looked at what happened decades later when those 
12-year-olds were running the U.S. economy. America’s economy grew at a 
rate of 3.3 percent per year from 1992 to 2002. The countries that 
scored higher than the U.S. grew at a slower rate—2.5 percent—during the 
same period. All in all, countries that did better in the test 
competition did worse in the economic competition.
Did the higher scores result in more innovation—which might show up in 
the number of patents? No again. The United States “clobbered the world 
on creativity, with 326 patents per million people,” compared with 127 
per million in the countries whose kids scored higher, Baker reports.
Why? Baker has a theory, although he can’t prove it. “It turns out the 
elementary school teachers who have been saying all along that there is 
more to education than what is reflected in test scores were right and 
the ‘experts’ were wrong,” he says. That doesn’t mean the scores are 
meaningless, he explains, but once a country achieves a certain level of 
academic achievement, focusing more effort and money on the skills 
measured by tests doesn’t pay off.  
http://www.nea.org/neatoday/0701/score.html 
<http://www.nea.org/neatoday/0701/score.html>   
<http://www.nea.org/neatoday/0701/score.html> 
 <http://www.nea.org/neatoday/0701/score.html 
<http://www.nea.org/neatoday/0701/score.html>   
<http://www.nea.org/neatoday/0701/score.html> >   
<http://www.nea.org/neatoday/0701/score.html 
<http://www.nea.org/neatoday/0701/score.html>   
<http://www.nea.org/neatoday/0701/score.html> >
another....
RANKINGS OF INTERNATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT TEST PERFORMANCE AND ECONOMIC 
STRENGTH: CORRELATION OR CONJECTURE?
CHRISTOPHER H. TIENKEN, Rutgers University, International Journal of 
Education Policy & Leadership, April 25, 2008. Volume 3, Number 4
 
( I would be glad to e-mail this study to anyone off-list)
 
Conclusions
The relationship between ranks on international tests of education 
achievement and future economic strength is stronger in nations that 
have economies grouped in the bottom 50% of the GCI rankings. In 
countries with economies grouped in bottom 50% of the GCI ranks it takes 
less of an increase in the population’s average level of education 
completed (e.g., the average level of education increase from 9 years of 
formal schooling to 11
years) to improve the economy (Krueger, 1999). For example, if everyone 
in Chad attained an 8th
grade education, there would be a direct positive impact on the economy 
because the nation would have a larger collective set of more 
competitive skills (human capital).
Nations with strong economies (e.g., the top 22 nations on the GCI) 
demonstrate a weak, non-significant relationship between ranks on 
international tests of mathematics and science achievement and economic 
strength as measured by GCI ranks. This conclusion is congruent with the 
economics literature base findings that countries with already high 
levels of education attainment see no effect on GDP by incremental 
increases in the populations’
levels of education (Bils & Klenow, 1998;Krueger & Lindhal, 2001).
The relationship between education and a country’s future economic 
growth is stronger in nations with lower-performing economies. In 
high-performing nations, the education system needs the economy more 
than the economy needs the education system (Bils & Klenow, 
1998)..........
 
 
Commentary
A cynic may believe that policymakers ignore the data knowingly. The 
Latin prefixes dis and mis are used to convey not/to deprive and 
less/wrong respectively. The words disinformation and misinformation 
convey the meanings of depriving one (the public) of the truth and 
providing wrong information, purposely. In national politics, critics 
use education disinformation and misinformation sometimes to perpetuate 
the merry-go-round approach to school reform in order to further 
political agendas.
A less cynical person may side with Socrates when evaluating the 
arguments regarding the alleged connection between international 
test-score rankings and economic growth. Socrates articulated the 
difference between fact and opinion by explaining that opinion resides 
somewhere between what is (knowledge) and what is not (ignorance). He 
stated, “many conventional views held by most people . . . hover 
somewhere between what is not and what fully is” (Plato, trans.2003, 
203d). Socrates described that those who have the eyes to seek the facts 
but are unable (or unwilling), even with the help of a guide, give 
opinions. However, it “cannot be said that they know any of the things 
they hold opinions about” (Plato, trans. 2003, 203e). It may be that 
those charged with creating and managing education policies have the 
capability to see and interpret the data but choose not to do so. 
Therefore, they give opinions (i.e., high ranks on international tests 
of mathematics and science bring about future economic strength) 
aboutwhich they know nothing.
 
 

Rog ( Horace ) Lucido, Physics Instructor, Ret.
Program Evaluator
Adjunct Faculty, Fresno Pacific University
Educational Consultant
Educators and Parents Against Testing Abuse ( EPATA )
Assessment Reform Network Central Valley Coordinator
Phone: 559-277-1312
Cell: 559-355-4215
email: lucid4@cvip.net <mailto:lucid4@cvip.net>   
<mailto:lucid4@cvip.net>  <mailto:lucid4@cvip.net 
<mailto:lucid4@cvip.net>   <mailto:lucid4@cvip.net> >   
<mailto:lucid4@cvip.net <mailto:lucid4@cvip.net>   
<mailto:lucid4@cvip.net> >  

----- Original Message -----
From: monicalucido@comcast.net <mailto:monicalucido@comcast.net>   
<mailto:monicalucido@comcast.net>  <mailto:monicalucido@comcast.net 
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Date: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 9:02 am
Subject: [ca-resisters] Math and Competitiveness
To: arn-l@interversity.org <mailto:arn-l@interversity.org>   
<mailto:arn-l@interversity.org>  <mailto:arn-l@interversity.org 
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Cc: ca-resisters@interversity.org <mailto:ca-resisters@interversity.org> 
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> Well, from the looks of it, some of the focus of yesterday's testimony 
> on math and science in education seems pretty good. Anyone want to 
> take a shot at stating whether or not the message being sent to 
> congress is quality? It SEEMS right on, but I could be missing 
> something...
> Joe Lucido EPATA Fresno (see below...)
> Stronger Math and Science Education Key to Boosting U.S. 
> Competitiveness, Witnesses Tell House Education Committee Congress 
> should build on its commitment to improving math and science by fully 
> funding America COMPETES Act Tuesday, July 22, 2008
>
> WASHINGTON, DC -- Improving the teaching and learning of mathematics 
> and science in U.S. schools is vital to maintaining America’s global 
> leadership, witnesses told the House Education and Labor Committee 
> today.
> “America won’t be able to maintain our great legacy of innovation and 
> discovery, let alone compete in today’s global economy, unless we make 
> investing in math and science education a top priority,” said U.S. 
> Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the committee. “Last year, 
> Congress took a critical first step by enacting legislation to provide 
> workers with the training and skills needed to compete in 21st century 
> jobs. Now we must build on that down payment by working with business 
> leaders and key stakeholders to help arm students with an excellent 
> foundation in math, science, and other cutting-edge fields.”
> A report released in March by the National Mathematics Advisory Panel 
> found that the nation’s system teaching math is “broken and must be 
> fixed” if the U.S. wants to maintain its competitive edge. Among other 
> things, the panel called for a comprehensive, systemic effort to 
> strengthen math education, including improving teacher training and 
> professional development.
> “This truly is a “Paul Revere Moment” for our country – we must spread 
> the alarm that our country is falling behind in math and science 
> achievement and we must get moving with all possible speed to shore up 
> our system,” said Tom Luce, the Chief Executive Officer of the 
> National Math and Science Initiative, which partners with businesses 
> to bring math and science education programs to a national level. 
> “Math and science are the new foundational literacy for everyone.”
> The panel of experts, which included business leaders, a teacher, and 
> the first American woman to travel in space, recommended expanding 
> partnerships between the business and education communities that focus 
> on bolstering STEM education, and increasing training and support 
> programs for teachers.
> The witnesses also urged lawmakers to fully fund the America COMPETES 
> Act, a law enacted by the Democratic Congress last year to provide 
> education and job training for students and workers in math, science, 
> technology, and engineering fields. Last year, Congress approved $193 
> million in funding for math and science education in the COMPETES Act, 
> but President Bush vetoed that legislation.
> Phil Mickelson, a professional golfer and the co-founder of the 
> Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy, explained how he uses math 
> every day, and discussed how the academy he and his wife Amy launched 
> helps teachers find creative ways to teach math and science: “Hands-on 
> demonstrations and exercises not only help to bring math and science 
> concepts to life, but also work to pique the teachers’ natural 
> curiosity and awaken their sense of inquiry and problem-solving, also 
> helping them to see these concepts through their students’ 
> perspective.”
> “We believe it essential to secure the technical talent pipeline for 
> the future,” explained Brian H. Wells, the Chief Systems Engineer of 
> Raytheon, which established a program to peak students’ interest in 
> math through the internet. “MathMovesU is designed to engage middle 
> school students on their own terms and make the connection between 
> math, their interests, and ‘cool’ careers. The website is “immersive,” 
> designed to create “aha” moments by presenting math in its relation to 
> some of the topics middle school students care most about -- music, 
> sports and fashion. It uses a variety of puzzles and games to 
> encourage the development of math skill in fun and creative ways.”
> “If our students are to become our future engineers, computer 
> scientists, mathematicians, and environmentalists, we need to change 
> the way we approach the teaching of math and science,” said Dr. Ramona 
> Chang, the Director of Curriculum for the Torrance Unified School 
> District in California, where teachers have participated in the 
> Mickelson Teachers Academy. “Academy teachers have been taught how to 
> plan creatively, teach constructively, and reflect objectively. These 
> skills rank in the proverbial “priceless” category for educators.” 
> “While both girls and boys have natural interests and abilities in 
> science, math and technology, society does not yet have equal 
> expectations for — or offer equal support to — girls interested in 
> these fields,” said Dr. Sally Ride, a former NASA astronaut, and the 
> first American woman in space, who runs Sally Ride Science, an 
> organization that focuses on helping students pursue opportunities in 
> STEM fields. “When both girls and boys are encouraged to pursue their 
> interests, they are inspired to think about their futures and are 
> better prepared to pursue a wide range of exciting opportunities in 
> high school, college and beyond.”