Government estimates indicate that by 2000 about 60 percent of new jobs will require skills held by only 20 percent of those entering the workforce. Other estimates show that 90 percent of future jobs will require skills beyond those usually learned in high school. An industry consortium estimates that roughly $55 billion a year is spent by industry on instruction, the majority of which goes to remedial training.

Raising the level of skills of all Americans is vital, because many societal issues become grounded in mathematical and scientific principles. Food safety issues, personal health decisions, and scientific evidence in trials are just a few examples. Performing daily tasks at home and at work requires an increasing level of technological understanding. Many are concerned that the United States is not preparing its citizens to handle such realities.

To benchmark U.S. educational standings, many turn to the results of international studies such as the recently reported Third International Mathematics and Science Study, which compares performance in mathematics and science of 500,000 students worldwide. U.S. students' performance compared to more than 21 other countries was above average for fourth graders, but by 12th grade, U.S. students perform near the bottom of industrialized nations. These results, combined with industrial concerns, have spurred studies and recommendations for action from many organizations, including the National Science Board (the governing body for the National Science Foundation), the Council on Competitiveness, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and many professional societies (including ASME).

Many of these reports share common recommendations, such as improved partnerships within the community, enhanced teacher professional development, and more uniformity in the elementary and secondary curriculum. Improving science, math, and engineering education is a complex problem, which will require the involvement of all stakeholders to produce significant change.

Each success story of engineers participating in education is the result of strong community partnerships and collaborative efforts. These efforts are successful because they leverage the combined strengths of the partners. Engineers help bridge the gap between classroom lessons and hands-on, workplace-based applications. Anecdotal evidence indicates that students would apply themselves better if they understood how facts from the classroom apply to the workplace.

Teachers are ultimately responsible for the formal education of students. Yet they face a difficult challenge staying current in their fields and understanding the latest applications in the workplace. Many engineers are helping teachers by volunteering in the classrooms or bringing teachers into the workplace. Many teachers involved in such programs speak positively about how valuable and rewarding the experiences are for them. Most develop new hands-on, inquiry-based curricula as a result of the experience.

A more fundamental issue than professional development for many school districts is attracting and retaining math and science teachers. Currently, many students are taught these subjects by teachers without training in the field. According to the National Science Foundation, 63 percent of high school and 17 percent of middle school science teachers have degrees in science. Increasing school-aged populations will require more than two million new teachers during the next decade, meaning that the scarcity of math and science teachers will only become more acute. Engineers are working to raise awareness of this issue and increase the prestige of the teaching profession. They are also entering teaching, both right out of school and after a successful engineering career.

Engineers are also contributing to math and science education by doing what they do best—designing and building things. ASME members are active across the country in the Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS) and the For Inspiration and Recog-nition of Science and Technology (FIRST) competition programs. ASME as an organization contributes strong support to these programs as well.

In a survey conducted last year to determine ASME's top public policy issues for 1999-2000, Society members highlighted elementary and secondary math and science education as a top public policy concern at both the state and federal levels.

As more of today's jobs require an array of mathematical, scientific, and technical skills, engineers are actively involved in preparing students for the future.

Susan Ipri Brown is an ASME Fellow in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

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