[T]he Commission is convinced that the future well-being of our nation and people depends not just on how well we educate our children generally, but on how well we educate them in mathematics and science specifically. …Beyond the world of global finance, mathematics and science will also supply the core forms of knowledge that the next generation of innovators, producers, and workers in every country will need if they are to solve the unforeseen problems and dream the dreams that will define America’s future.
Before It’s
Too Late
National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st
Century
U.S. Department of Education, 2000
60% of all new jobs in the 21st century will require skills that are possessed by only 20% of the current workforce..
Before It’s
Too Late
National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st
Century
U.S. Department of Education, 2000
Because there is just too much to learn, and because the specific skills that one learns become obsolete, perhaps the most important thing for students to learn, is to learn how to learn. This includes knowing when and what to learn, having the passion and desire to learn and having the skills to internalize new knowledge independently. … The belief that we can provide all the education that a person needs before he enters the workforce - i.e. pre-employment education and training - no longer holds true, if it ever did. We all live longer, and technology marches on at an increasing pace. … In each of our now longer life-times, we will need to re-train ourselves a number of times.
Radm Teo Chee Hean
Minister of Education, Singapore
26 May 2000
By law in Japan, first-year teachers have 60 full days of in-service training and a master teacher as a mentor. In addition, there are a certain number of off-site workshops required.
Lessons in Perspective:
How Culture Shapes Math Instruction in Japan, Germany and the United States
California State University Institute for Education Reform,1997
The U.S. is not experiencing a labor shortage. Rather, it is experiencing a qualified worker shortage. A 1997 survey of human resources showed that 57% of current employees have skill that match the demands of their jobs, but only 40% of job applicants have the workforce skills required.
Workforce Economics
National Alliance of Business, September 1997
The U.S. Department of Labor reports that 20 million net jobs were created in the six-year period ending in November 1999. About 4 out of 5 of those jobs paid above the U.S. median income, and 2 out of 3 were in the highest-paying occupations. Professional and managerial jobs make up 60 percent of the new jobs; such jobs also employ 70% of the college graduates in the workforce.
20 Million Jobs, January
1993 — November 1999
U.S. Department of Labor
About 33% of employers and 27% of college faculty say that local schools are doing a good or excellent job. By contrast, 92% of teachers, 78% of students, and 77% of parents think they are.
Remarks by Deborah Wadsworth,
Executive Director, Public Agenda
May 1999
The fact that high school teachers believe many students are not prepared for college but are prepared for work clearly signals how little they know about the needs of today's workplace.
Remarks by Deborah Wadsworth,
Executive Director, Public Agenda
May 1999
The weakness of K-12 math and science education is the greatest threat to America's long-term economic future.
Innovation Summit
Council on Competitiveness, 1998
Labor demand is outstripping labor growth. Between 1996 and 2006, demand for employees will grow 14 percent (about 50 million job openings) while supply will grow 11 percent. At the same time, the workforce is aging. In 1976, 51 percent of the workforce was over age 35 or over; by 2006, 63 percent will be age 35 or over.
Workforce Economics
National Alliance of Business, June 1998
In 1996, the share of jobs requiring postsecondary education was 31%; the share of new jobs created between 1996 and 2006 that will require postsecondary education is 42%.
Workforce Economics
National Alliance of Business, October 1998
Employers report assigning higher importance to "soft skills" than to academic skills when hiring. On a scale of 1 (Essential) to 5 (Not At All Important), an applicant's attitude rated 4.6 as a hiring factor whereas the applicant's academic performance rated 2.5.
"The Benefits of Bridging Work and School"
Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, September 1998
In a 1998 Public Agenda survey, 84% of the students surveyed said that they would be motivated "a lot" if employers asked to see their high school transcripts. As part of the Hiring Smart program of the National Alliance of Business, over 3000 employers have pledged to ask students for school records as part of the hiring process.
Work America
National Alliance of Business, February 1999
While engineering enrollments continue to decline, demand for engineers is growing explosively. During the past four years, actual engineering employment increased ... almost 20 percent.
Engineering and Affirmative
Action; Crisis in the Making
National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, 1997
To meet our workforce needs, the United States has come to rely heavily on immigrant engineers. In 1995, foreign-born engineers comprised more than 40 percent of the graduate school enrollment, received almost half of the doctorates awarded, and held more that 60 percent of the post-doctoral R&D positions. Among engineering faculty, 30 percent are immigrants.
Engineering and Affirmative
Action; Crisis in the Making
National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, 1997
From the standpoint of having enough skilled employees tomorrow, math and science education is the key to our future.
Laurie Sachtleben , Chevron,
Inc.
"Steer Clear of the Skills Gap"
Personnel Journal, March 1996
[A] 10 percent (or about one year) increase in the education level of a company's workforce increased productivity by 8.6 percent, while a comparable increase in capital equipment increased productivity by 3.4 percent. For non-manufacturing companies, the result was even higher — 11 percent.
National Center for the Educational
Quality of the Workforce
University of Pennsylvania, 1995
In 1950, 65 percent of jobs were considered "unskilled" versus 15 percent that required skilled workers; by 2000, the reverse will be true — only 15 percent will accommodate unskilled workers, versus the 65 percent that will require people with strong academic and technical skills.
Take Charge
Washington Roundtable, 1997
It has been estimated that 80 percent of the jobs available in the United States within 20 years will be cerebral, and only 20 percent manual, the exact opposite of the ratio in 1900... .
Thinking in the Future
Tense
Jennifer Jones
Education is a personal investment, and there is a return. In 1992, the average annual income of a person without a high school diploma was about $12,800; the average annual income with a high school diploma (only) was about $18,700.
The World Almanac and
Book of Facts
1996
The lifetime income of someone with a BA is about twice that of a high school graduate and three times that of someone who did not finish high school.
Postsecondary Education
Opportunity
Mortenson Institute, 1993
Within two years of graduation, students who complete high school earn about 25 percent more that those who do not.
Mathematics and Science
Achievement for the 21st Century
National Education Goals Panel, 1998
Between 1983 and 1990, the earnings difference between high school and college graduates rose from 49 percent to 89 percent. Based upon recent studies, it is estimated that each year of education beyond high school results in 5-15 percent in additional earnings.
Education and Training
for America's Future
National Manufacturing Institute, 1998
Bureau of Labor Statistics figures show that, on average, 28-year-old workers who tested in the top quartile of math skills on the National Assessment of Educational Progress [NAEP] earn 37 percent more than those in lower quartiles. A comparable advantage goes to those who test well in science.
Education and the Economy:
An Indicators Report
U.S. Department of Labor, 1997
Income is directly related to education in the statistics for 1997. The higher the education level, the higher the annual income.
National Center for Education Statistics, 1998
Individuals with a bachelor's degree (or higher) earn, on average, $15,000 more per year than high school graduates.
Getting Ready Pays
Off: A Report for National College Week
U.S. Department of Education, 2000
Income is directly related to employment of workers aged 25 and older. The higher the education level, the unemployment rate. In 1997, the unemployment rates were:
National Center for Education Statistics, 1998
Employment rates of African Americans and Hispanic remained in a fixed ratio with Whites over the six year period ending November 1999. Whether during the period of overall high unemployment (1992) or recent low unemployment (1999), the unemployment rate for Hispanics was about 1.8 times that for Whites; the unemployment rate for African Americans was about 2.2 times that for Whites.
20 Million Jobs: January
1993- - November 1999
U.S. Department of Labor, December 1999
In a culture dedicated to opportunity for all, nothing is more important than preparing our children for the future workplace.
Preparing Our Children:
Math and Science Education in the National Interest
National Science Board, 1999
[T]he governors are eager for a national test they can use to market their states to investors. "It comes down to economic development," says Tim Kelly, education advisor to Michigan Republican Gov. John Engler. "the state with the best schools wins."
"States Take Lead in
National Tests for Schoolchildren"
Wall Street Journal, 23 December 1998