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Hi, Beryl:

If you have a chance, look at the Urban Institute article.  It is  
actually pretty nuanced and insightful, though I agree your final  
question "who are we to believe" is always a good one.

Eric Siegel
esiegel at nyscience dot org



On Oct 30, 2007, at 10:32 AM, Beryl Rosenthal wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology  
> Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related  
> institutions.
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> *******
>
> Not to throw cold water on what appears to be a wonderful change,  
> but from what my colleagues at many universities are telling me,  
> the attrition rates for undergrad engineering students is as high  
> as 50%, largely occurring when students run up against calculus and  
> physics.  Is it unpreparedness at the high school level?  Is it  
> that only the "gifted" can make it?  Who are we to believe?
> Beryl
>
> Eric Siegel wrote:
>> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology  
>> Centers
>> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related  
>> institutions.
>> ********************************************************************* 
>> ********
>>
>> In today's NY Times in an article about inquiry based hands on  
>> science learning going on in some gifted and talented programs,  
>> the following quotation:
>>
>>
>>
>> Many people wring their hands over the state of science education  
>> and point to the appalling performance of America’s students in  
>> international science and math competitions. Yet some of the  
>> direst noises about our nation’s scientific prospects may be  
>> premature. Far from rejecting challenging science courses,  
>> students seem to be embracing them.
>>
>> This year, for example, the American Institute of Physics said  
>> that the percentage of high school students taking physics courses  
>> was at an all-time high, and that the number of bachelor’s degrees  
>> awarded in the subject had climbed by 31 percent since 2000.  
>> Moreover, there are a growing number of “magnet” or “gifted and  
>> talented” programs in secondary schools that emphasize science and  
>> math. While quality varies widely, and some observers worry that  
>> the tiny, competitive programs consume an outsized portion of a  
>> school’s budget, a visit to Ms. Cascio’s class and her students,  
>> who are not only gifted, talented and magnetic but hardworking,  
>> too, is almost enough to make you wish you were back in high school.
>>
>> ========
>> I posted another article over the weekend which dealt extensively  
>> and thought provokingly with the supposed gap in science learning  
>> between the US and others   <http://www.urban.org/publications/ 
>> 1001094.html>
>>
>> So, has the tide been turning while we are making last decade's  
>> argument?  I remember the proliferation of computers and  
>> connectivity that vastly narrowed the "digital divide" as it was  
>> being called at the time forced us to rethink our programs.  This  
>> is the NY Times article (free registration required)
>>
>> <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/science/30angi.html?th&emc=th>
>>
>> Eric Siegel
>> Director and
>> Chief Content Officer
>> New York Hall of Science
>> www.nyscience.org
>> (718) 699-0005 x 317
>> esiegel at nyscience dot org
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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