You’ll find math and science in a lot of places other than textbooks. It’s in the way our astronauts travel to space and the way a microrobot — as narrow as two human hairs — travels through a patient’s arteries. It’s in the steps necessary for our military to develop technology such as self-driving trucks and virtual simulators. More broadly, these subjects lie at the core of America’s ability to compete with countries like India and China.
According to a 2009 report by the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, 23 countries scored higher than the U.S. in math literacy and 12 nations topped us in science literacy. The reality is that science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, education will play a critical role in determining our country’s future potential as an economic and technological leader.
To keep up with our competition, we must do better.
The National Math and Science Initiative, or NMSI, and U.S. Department of Defense are working in partnership with private donors such as ExxonMobil, Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Boeing, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, and Northrop Grumman to meet this critical challenge.
Last year, NMSI launched the Initiative for Military Families, or IMF, in four public schools that serve Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, and Fort Campbell in Hopkinsville, Ky. The program gives students from both military families and households located near military bases access to college-level courses such as calculus and physics. It also provides these youth an opportunity to earn college credit for advanced coursework while also supplying continuity when families transfer to different military bases. This fall, the IMF will expand this program on and around military installations in eight states, including Georgia.
Before NMSI and DOD launched the IMF program, approximately 600 students enrolled in AP math and science courses in the four pilot schools. Thanks to the initiative, that enrollment jumped to 994. Schools participating in NMSI’s AP Training and Incentives program for the past two years demonstrated a 97.7 percent increase in AP exams passed in math, science and English — an impressive seven times the national average.
Now, we hope to expand this kind of success to other students across the nation. These new sites include schools in Hawaii, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia and Georgia’s Howard High School near Robins Air Force Base. With sufficient funding, NMSI will expand the IMF program to every high school in America serving large numbers of military families.
For the U.S. to continue to succeed in the world market, our future generations must be well-prepared in science and math. Furthermore, we must do all we can to provide quality education to our military kids who sacrifice so much in support of their parents’ service to our nation. By enhancing the quality of our STEM education, we can help prepare our children to create the next “Sputnik” moment.
Pete Geren served as the 20th U.S. Secretary of the Army and is a former member of Congress. Tom Luce, CEO of the National Math and Science Initiative, is a former assistant secretary of education.
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