a234  1459  31 Jan 89
AM-World of Differences, Bjt,0692
Americans Last in Math, Below the Mean in Science in International
Survey
By JILL LAWRENCE
AP Education Writer
    WASHINGTON (AP) - American teen-agers scored dead last in math and
well below the mean in science in an international survey whose
results ''pose a serious challenge to our position in the world
community,'' the Educational Testing Service said Tuesday.
    The U.S. youngsters were outperformed in math by their counterparts
in four other countries and four Canadian provinces and were among
the worst science achievers in the assessment of 24,000 13-year-olds.
    ''The obvious conclusion is that unless we're careful, the Buck
Rogers of the 1990s is going to be living in Seoul, Korea, instead of
Chattanooga or Chicago,'' said former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander,
now president of the University of Tennessee.
    ''How many times must this nation be reminded of its educational
deficit?'' Education Secretary Lauro Cavazos asked in a statement,
referring to repeated findings that U.S. children perform poorly in
math and science.
    Cavazos called the situation ''a national tragedy,'' while other
educators termed the survey results frightening and devastating.
    ETS officials tried to put a less-pessimistic face on their
findings, noting that almost all of the U.S. teen-agers demonstrated
mastery of basic math skills and knowledge of everyday science facts.
    ''We are making improvements on our own terms. We are educating
every child in America,'' said Archie Lapointe, executive director of
the ETS Center for the Assessment of Educational Progress.
    ''Everyone is talking now about higher-order skills, higher
standards. I'm very confident that this is going to happen,''
Lapointe added. ''If we articulate what we want to do, the schools
will deliver.''
    But Albert Shanker, president of the American Federation of
Teachers, said elementary school teachers won't be able to deliver
unless they are required to take math and science courses to qualify
for their licenses.
    ''We've got a long way to go before we turn it around,'' Shanker
said. ''The next generation of (elementary school) teachers has
already been educated without math or science. You've got a terrible
pipeline problem.''
    The assessment, financed by the National Science Foundation and the
Department of Education, was based on tests of students in Ireland,
South Korea, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, and
Canada's British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec. The
last three were divided into French- and English-speaking samples.
    Korean students demonstrated the highest overall mathematics
achievement while those from the United States and French-speaking
Ontario showed the lowest. Youths in South Korea and British Columbia
turned in the best science performance. The United States, along with
Ireland and French-speaking Ontario and New Brunswick, ''perform well
below the mean,'' the report said.
    Among the specific findings:
    -Seventy-eight percent of the Korean 13-year-olds can use
intermediate mathematics skills to solve two-step problems such as
computing the average age of five children. That compares with only
40 percent in the United States and French-speaking Ontario. The
report called the U.S. performance ''a matter for grave concern.''
    -Forty percent of the Korean students understand measurement and
geometry concepts and can solve more complex problems, such as
figuring out the radius of a circle. That compares with under 10
percent in the United States and French-speaking Ontario.
    -Despite their poor performance, two-thirds of U.S. students said
they considered themselves ''good at mathematics.'' Only 23 percent
of Korean students, the highest achievers, shared that attitude.
    -More than 70 percent of the youngsters in Korea and British
Columbia can use scientific procedures and analyze scientific data
compared with only 35 percent to 40 percent in the four bottom
nations and provinces.
    ''The United States has traditionally thought of itself as
technologically innovative and in the forefront in science,'' the
report said. ''These results are sobering and pose a serious
challenge to our position in the world community.''
    Many educators said U.S. performance could be improved if teachers
and parents expected more of students and showed more enthusiasm
themselves about science and math. And they said international
comparisons are helpful in determining how high expectations should
be.
    
 
AP-NY-01-31-89 1741EST
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