Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:

I am Howard D. Mehlinger, Dean of the School of Education and Professor am pleased to have this

of History and Education at Indiana University.

opportunity to appear before you today to discuss issues relating to needed improvements in mathematics, science, foreign language and technology education in American schools and colleges.

issues:

In your letter inviting me to testify, you asked me to speak to three

the nature and magnitude of the problems in mathematics, science, and foreign language education;

the appropriate response to these problems at various levels of

government, and by the private sector;

the appropriate Federal legislative response.

I will comment briefly on each of these in turn.

The Nature and Magnitude of the Problems in Mathematics, Science, and Foreign Language Education

From various studies and reports members of the Subcommittee are

undoubtedly familiar with certain facts that bear on the problem under review today. For example, we know that:

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Only 15 percent of American high school students now study a foreign language, down from 34 percent in 1965;

Only 8 percent of American colleges and universities now require foreign language for admission, compared with 34 percent in 1966;

Only one-third of the nation's 17,000 school districts require more than one year of mathematics and science for graduation;

Mathematics scores of 17-year olds declined significantly in two
national assessments of mathematics (1973, 1978);

In 1981, 50 percent of teachers newly employed nationwide to teach
secondary science and mathematics were actually uncertified to teach
those subjects;

Remedial mathematics enrollments at 4-year colleges and universities increased 72 percent between 1975 and 1980

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compared to a 7 percent

increase in total student enrollments for the same period;
Industry, business, and the military commonly report that new
employees and recruits lack the competence for a broad range of
increasingly technical jobs.

The number of high school students taking calculus in the USSR has
reached 5 million. For the United States the comparable number in
1977 was 105,000.

On a per capita basis (for the relevant age group) for each
engineering graduate produced per year in the United States, the
United Kingdom produces 1.1 engineers, West Germany produces 1.4
engineers, Japan produces 2.6 engineers, and the USSR produces

4.1 engineers.

These facts make clear the existence of a problem, but they do not expose the full range and depth of the problem we confront and how difficult solutions will be. Let me comment on just a few.

Teacher shortage. We know from the statistical evidence that there is a critical shortage of secondary school teachers in mathematics and science; we also know by the same evidence that there is a somewhat smaller shortage of foreign language teachers. However, these figures disguise the real magnitude

of the problem. For example, Indiana is one state that currently reports a shortage of math and science teachers; it is also a state that requires only one year of mathematics and one year of science for high school graduation. If the Indiana Department of Public Instruction doubles the math and science credits required for high school graduation, as is presently planned, the problem will worsen immediately. In 1982 Indiana's four major state universities graduated sufficient mathematics teachers to fill only 58% of the vacancies listed in Indiana schools. In 1982 these four universities graduated a total of three people in chemistry, four in earth science, four in general science, and two in physics who were qualified to teach these subjects in Indiana secondary schools. Some high schools no longer even offer physics or advanced courses in foreign language. (It is not necessary to list a teacher shortage if you have dropped the course.) The statistics about our shortages are grim; but they do not reveal how truly serious the problem is. In part, schools now manage the problem of teacher shortage by dropping

the courses.

Student Interest and Competence in Mathematics, Science, and Foreign Languages. Most of the facts presented to us deal with declines in high school student performance on standardized examinations, the low rates of student participation in secondary school courses, and the growth in remedial courses in college. But the problem begins earlier than the facts suggest. Students have little opportunity to study mathematics, science, and foreign language in the elementary grades, where such subjects typically begin in other nations. The result is that our students acquire fears or phobias toward these subjects before they reach secondary schools.

Attitudes are

set early. Few students choose a career involving math, science, or foreign
language in college if they have not acquired a sound background in these
subjects in junior high and senior high school. Most of our elementary school
teachers have little background in these subjects and tend to give them less
importance. We shall not solve the problem of inadequate science, mathematics,
and foreign language instruction until we begin to have a greater impact on
instruction in the elementary schools as it relates to these subject areas.
Yet, consider the magnitude of retraining more than 1 million elementary
school teachers.

Worker Competence. Much attention has been directed to such issues as inadequate preparation for college, shortages of engineers, and other problems affecting the best educated of our population. Too little attention, in my view, has been devoted to the mathematics, science, and technology competence that will be required of all Americans. The fact is that the kind of education that everyone will need to participate in an increasingly scientific, technological, globally-inter connected, information-processing, service-oriented society is not the same education we deemed sufficient in the past. The ability of our schools and colleges to help us through a period of rapid transformation of the workplace will likely prove decisive for the economic future of our society. Currently 20 million workers, 20 per cent of the labor force, are employed in blue collar manufacturing. By 2005 it has been estimated that only seven to twelve million workers, or five to ten percent of the work force, will be engaged in blue collar manufacturing jobs. The decline in birth rates, the need for greater worker productivity in order to make our products more competitive with those of other nations, and the appearance of entirely new

products and services will force curriculum changes on the schools.

Following is a list of jobs that are forecast to be available in 1990.*

Many of these jobs did not even exist ten years ago.

Consider their implica

tions for science, mathematics, and education in technology.

It is not likely that the schools and colleges can provide all of the particular technical skills such workers will require. But industries will demand greater entry-level performance in all of the basic skills, if workers are to acquire the technical skills needed. In short, schools must educate to new levels of "literacy" that include: math literacy, science literacy, computer literacy, and ability to read technical manuals and other materials appropriate to the job.

For the past 15 to 20 years, we have asked the public schools to pursue two main goals: increase access to schooling and equalize opportunity for all groups in our society. By these criteria the schools have been remarkably successful. We provide formal schooling for more full-time students than do

*Marvin Cetron and Thomas O'Toole. "Careers with a Future: Will Be in the 1990's." The Futurist (June, 1982) 14-15.

Where the Jobs