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National Summit on Competitiveness Calls for More Funding, More Mathematics and Science Degrees

National Summit on Competitiveness Calls for More Funding, More Mathematics and Science Degrees

A "National Summit on Competitiveness" was held at the Department of Commerce on December 6, 2005. The goal was to discuss ways to maintain and increase American leadership in the face of growing international competition. The summit "brought together together key leaders from government and industry to decide on the specific actions necessary to strengthen America¹s innovation capacity, particularly in science and technology research, education, workforce development, and the deployment of new technologies." The Summit¹s concluding statement, available online at http://www.usinnovation.org/pdf/National_Summit_Statement.pdf, calls for increased investment in basic research. It also calls the country to "By 2015, double the number of bachelor¹s degrees awarded annually to U.S. students in science, math, and engineering, and increase the number of those students who become K‹12 science and math teachers."

According to Education Week (14 December, 2005), one session at the Summit featured the results of a survey of middle school students conducted by Raytheon Company. More than 80 percent of the students surveyed said they would rather clean their rooms, take out the garbage or go to the dentist than do their math homework. More than 40 percent said they have trouble understanding math.

For more information on the Summit, visit them on the web at http://www.usinnovation.org.

id: 
4313
News Date: 
Monday, January 9, 2006