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State of the Union Addresses STEM Education

Tuesday night’s State of the Union Address focused heavily on education and specifically called for greater emphasis on STEM education. President Obama covered the full-spectrum of recent education issues including: Race to the Top, No Child Left Behind, international competitiveness, standards, the teaching profession, as well as STEM teachers, and more. In addition, four science students attended and sat in the box as guests of First Lady Michelle Obama.

President Obama stressed global competitiveness, pointing out that other nations, including China and India, are focusing greater efforts on educating their children in math and science. He also referenced lagging math and science proficiency among American students compared to their international peers. In December 2010, the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) results revealed that U.S. students ranked 17th in science and 25th in math out of 70 other international economies.

“We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world,” the President stated. This statement comes only a few weeks after he signed into law the America COMPETES Act (H.R. 5116), which sets goals to do exactly that.

Race to the Top, the $4.35 billion grant competition, is the “most meaningful reform of our public schools in a generation,” he said. The President has requested that Congress continue the competition in the FY2011 budget, which has not yet been approved. The President also applauded the states who have adopted the new Common Core State Standards.

In addition, President Obama called for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Many education policy experts are skeptical of the likelihood of this being accomplished in a highly divided Congress. President Obama, however, consistent with his optimistic tone, sounded confident as he said, “Race to the Top should be the approach we follow this year as we replace No Child Left Behind with a law that is more flexible and focused on what's best for our kids.”

Of course the budget was also a main topic throughout his remarks, but he cautioned law makers regarding edu-cuts. He compared gutting our investments in innovation and education to be like lightening an overloaded airplane by removing its engine.

Teachers, or “nation builders” as they call them in South Korea, should be treated with the utmost respect, said the President. He referred to his recent announcement of a goal to recruit and train 100,000 great STEM teachers over the next ten years who are able to prepare and inspire students. This goal is aligned with the recommendations(pdf) recently made by the President’s Council of Advisors in Science and Technology (PCAST). In an appeal to young people, he said, “If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation; if you want to make a difference in the life of a child — become a teacher. Your country needs you.”

Overall, the State of the Union Address was extremely favorable for STEM education, especially this statement, “We need to teach our kids that it's not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair.”

STEM Education: Who’s Who in the 112th Congress

Now that the 112th Congress is officially in office, we can begin to examine who the new players will be in education, specifically science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. With the GOP now in control of the House, the committees and subcommittees are under new Republican leadership. Not only have the players changed, but the names of a few committees have changed too. The House Education and Labor Committee is now the Education and the Workforce Committee; and the House Science and Technology Committee will now be called the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

Former Chairman George Miller (D-CA) and Rep. John Kline (R-MN) have swapped positions on the Education and Workforce Committee, with Kline now serving as the new chair. Kline announced the 112th Republican committee members here. Kline has expressed that his priorities will focus on certainty and simplicity in federal regulations, and promoting innovation in schools and workplaces. Simplicity and minimalism seem to be the themes among this new Congress as budgets are tightened and programs become scrutinized.

Kline has selected the following members to serve as education subcommittee chairs: Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness; and Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education

Former ranking member Ralph Hall (R-TX) is the new Chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. Hall replaces retired Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN), author of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act (H.R. 5116). Hall voted against the COMPETES Act which passed as a last minute surprise at the end of the lame duck session. Hall has pledged now to conduct rigorous oversight to the programs in the bill. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) has been named Ranking Member of this committee.

The new House Appropriations Committee Chair is Hal Rogers (R-KY), who, like Hall and most Republicans, also opposed the COMPETES Act. With COMPETES passed and now signed into law by President Obama, the question going forward is what level will be appropriated. John Holdren, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy at the White House, said in a recent blog post, “Full funding of the COMPETES Act is among the most important things that Congress can do to ensure America’s continued leadership in the decades ahead.”

In addition to the retirement of Bart Gordon, a few other STEM education advocates will also be missed this year. After serving eight terms, one of STEM’s biggest champions, Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), retired. He served on both the committees on Education and Labor, and Science and Technology, and was also co-chair of the STEM Education Caucus. Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT), who worked with Ehlers across the aisle on STEM education legislation, also retired. Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE), another STEM advocate and former ranking Republican on the Education and Labor Committee, ran for Senate and lost the election in the primaries.

Rep. Chris Lee (R-NY) has been selected to replace Ehlers and serve as co-chair of the STEM Education Caucus along with Congressman Dan Lipinski (D-IL). “My background is in manufacturing, and one of the most important ways we can strengthen this and other highly-skilled industries here at home is by investing in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education and training,” said Lee in this article. “I look forward to working with Dan to ensure students interested in these critical fields have access to the resources they need to succeed so we can grow our economy and create jobs.”

To read more about what’s in store for 2011, check out these edu-predictions:

• ASCD predicts What’s Hot and What’s Not in Education for 2011
• TIME.com has Andrew Rotherham’s 11 Education Activists for 2011

America COMPETES Reauthorization Being Signed Into Law

Christmas came early today for STEM education. In an unexpected move at the tail end of the “lame duck” session, Congress passed the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (H.R. 5116) this afternoon. The bill is now on its way to the President’s desk for signature.

The COMPETES Act is game-changing piece of legislation for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, education and makes significant investments in innovation and basic research. The bill includes the STEM Education Coordination Act, which will provide overall coordination of federal programs and activities in support of STEM education. It also reauthorizes a number of other federal STEM education programs including those at the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Department of Energy.

The House had originally passed a version of the bill in May, but analysts had predicted that the bill was not likely to get through the Senate before the end of this Congress. However, the Senate passed an amended version of COMPETES by unanimous consent last Friday. Today, the House approved the Senate’s amendments and passed the bill with a vote of 228-130.

Rep. Bart Gordon, Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology said, “While there have been concessions made, the Senate’s amendments preserve the intent of the Rising Above the Gathering Storm report and the original COMPETES. It keeps our basic research agencies on a doubling path, it continues to invest in high-risk, high-reward energy technology development, it will help improve STEM education, and it will help unleash American innovation.”

Gordon, who is now retiring, is the author of the bill and has been one of COMPETES’ biggest champions. “I cannot think of anything I would rather do as one of my final acts in Congress than sending this bill, with strong bipartisan support, to the president’s desk.”

The passage of the COMPETES Reauthorization comes on the heels of the report released in September, Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5. The report references daunting statistics on America’s progress and future outlook regarding global competitiveness and innovation. The authors of the report stressed the necessity for major investments in basic research, STEM education, and innovation in order to maintain our competitive position in the world.