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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:
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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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