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Representative Miller Statement on NAEP Results in Science
 

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

 

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Representative George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, issued the following statement today in response to new results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress – also known as The Nation’s Report Card – that show mixed progress among U.S. elementary and secondary school students on science achievement.

“Students in the fourth grade are making progress in science, but that progress levels off by eighth grade and diminishes by grade 12. These results show that we still have a lot of work to do to boost students’ academic achievement, particularly in later grades. The U.S. cannot retain its position of leadership in the world if American students graduate from high school lacking a solid foundation in science. America can continue to lead the way in technology, discovery, and innovation, but science education is critical to success.

“One of the first challenges we face is getting highly qualified teachers into every classroom, particularly in subject areas with critical teacher shortages, like science. We should provide up-front tuition assistance to excellent undergraduate and graduate students who commit to a career in teaching science. We should provide better professional development opportunities for all teachers. And, of course, we must boost achievement in reading and math in order to boost achievement in science and in other subjects. Students who can’t read at grade level will have difficulty navigating a biology textbook. Students can’t study physics without a firm grounding in mathematics.

“These results also show why it is wrong for the Bush administration and Congress to cut national investments in education. Just last week, House Republicans approved a budget that reduces funding for the U.S. Department of Education by $2.2 billion. At the same time, the President signed into law a $70 billion tax break bill that disproportionately benefits the wealthiest Americans. That kind of shortsighted leadership is never going to help American students achieve to their fullest potential.”

In 2005, Miller introduced legislation – the Teacher Excellence for all Children (TEACH) Act – to attract and retain highly qualified teachers to America’s public schools. The legislation focuses on subject areas with critical shortages, like math and science. More information on math and science provisions in the TEACH Act is below.

For more information on House Democrats’ “Innovation Agenda: A Commitment to Competitiveness to Keep American No. 1,” click here.

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KEY MATH AND SCIENCE PROVISIONS OF THE TEACH ACT OF 2005

A core component of the TEACH Act of 2005 is to improve math and science education for all children.  This is achieved by:

  • Recruiting top talent to teach math and science in our schools.  The TEACH Act provides $4,000 per year of up-front tuition assistance for outstanding undergraduate and graduate students who are studying to become teachers and who commit to teaching math or science in a high-need elementary or secondary school for at least four years.  These scholarships are also available to experienced teachers of other subjects who want go back to school to get the credentials necessary to teach math, science, or another subject for which there is an acute shortage of qualified teachers.
  • Rewarding Math and Science Teachers with Premium Pay. The TEACH Act provides pay increases of $12,500 per year for exemplary math and science teachers with proven track records of success in increasing their students’ academic achievement who transfer into high-poverty elementary and secondary schools for at least four years.
  • Helping New Math and Science Teachers Build Their Skills. The TEACH Act provides $300 million for new teacher induction programs that will help all new teachers, including math and science teachers, with the transition into teaching through working closely with mentor teachers – in this case experienced exemplary math and science teachers,  a lighter teaching load, and other proven strategies that improve teacher satisfaction and retention.
  • Making it Easier for Math and Science Teachers to Transfer into the States and Communities that Need them Most.  The TEACH Act supports the establishment and development of a new, research-based, portable, performance-based teacher assessment tool.  Just as attorneys who score well on the bar exam can transfer their credentials if necessary, teachers who score well on teacher exams would benefit in a similar way. 

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