In Friedman’s article that I talked about on Sunday (Bush and Energy Independence) he spoke of achieving the goal of energy independence through a program of the National Science Foundation. Presumably, the scientists implementing the program will be as capable as those who got us to the moon thirty-five years ago. However, an article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal does not fill one with a great deal of confidence that we could achieve the goal even if Bush proclaimed it.
The reason for my trepidation is a survey of fifteen-year olds in industrialized countries conducted by the OECD. It shows the US as ranking 24th out of 29 countries surveyed relative to math skills. In problem-solving skills we scored close to the bottom. In science we scored less than average. On average, 4% of the test takers scored in the top ranges; in the US only 2% did so. In a different survey, 17% of students at public four-year colleges need remedial math courses.
Not a good sign for energy independence or a leading economy.
No comments:
Post a Comment