U.S. Students Face Hurdles in Mastering Math and Science Courses in College

November 14, 2007

The United States still lags behind other nations, notably India and China, in educating enough students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), an article in the San Antonio Express-News recently declared. And Texas is failing miserably in its goal of handing out more degrees in these fields.

A report by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, titled "Closing the Gaps: The Texas Higher Education Plan," noted that the state is continuing to fall behind despite warnings from educators and business leaders eager to hire skilled workers.

One reason for the shortfall is that most U.S. high school students are not required to take harder, more advanced courses in the mathematical sciences. Once students enter college, other barriers emerge. Many science and math departments are not shy about weeding out students who are not immediately successful in the STEM subjects. Then there's the big lecture format. This approach "is just not effective with many students," said Freeman Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

Texas hopes to remedy the situation within its borders by requiring its students to take math and science courses each year in high school. Increased mentoring, whether in high school or college, could also help keep students, particularly underrepresented minorities and women, in STEM fields. "You have to have a role model, and you don't get a role model in a class of 500," said Lorne Davis, head of the physics department at Texas Lutheran University, in Seguin.

Hrabowski has suggested that switching to group collaboration in large, introductory college courses, such as chemistry, would make a difference. At his campus, switching to group work in introductory chemistry has raised passing rates from 70 percent to close to 90 percent.

Source: San Antonio Express-News, Oct. 31, 2007.