II 109th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3790 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES August 3, 2006 Mrs. Clinton introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To create a set of effective voluntary national expectations, and a voluntary national curriculum, for mathematics and science education in kindergarten through grade 12, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the National Mathematics and Science Consistency Act.

2.

Findings

Congress finds the following: (1)The United States has fallen behind other industrialized countries in terms of competing in a global economy. This deterioration is due in large part to the diminishing number of well-trained people in the fields of mathematics, science, and technology, as well as the decrease in scientific innovations generated from the United States in recent years. (2)Not only did the United States produce fewer graduates in mathematics, science, and engineering in 2002 than it did in 1985, but the United States is also generating far fewer college graduates in those fields than other countries. In China, 59 percent of undergraduates receive degrees in science and engineering and in Japan, 66 percent receive such degrees, but in the United States, only 32 percent of undergraduates receive degrees in science and engineering. (3)United States students are scoring far behind students in other countries on international mathematics and science assessments. A recent Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the largest and most comprehensive comparative international study of education, found that 12th graders in the United States ranked 21st out of 40 industrialized countries on general knowledge in mathematics and science. Furthermore, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), an organization that compiles reports on the reading and mathematics skills of 15-year-olds, found that the United States ranked 28th out of 40 nations surveyed in mathematics literacy. (4)In the United States, each State has its own set of standards and curriculum for mathematics and science education in kindergarten through grade 12, with its own definition of proficiency for these standards. When each State’s definition of proficiency is compared to a national model, less than 40 percent of the students in grade 4, and only 17 percent of the students in grade 12, reach the national proficiency level in mathematics. In addition, approximately 1/3 of the students in grades 4 and 8, and nearly 1/2 of the students in grade 12, do not reach the basic level in science, according to the recent National Assessment of Educational Progress. (5)In its report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future, the National Academy of Sciences recommends that the Department of Education collect effective K–12 materials that would be available free of charge as a voluntary national curriculum that would provide an effective standard for K–12 teachers. The National Academy of Sciences advocates for the creation of world-class national benchmarks and a national curriculum in order to ensure students are receiving the skills needed to successfully compete in a global economy.

3.

Develop voluntary national expectations and a voluntary national curriculum for mathematics and science education in kindergarten through grade 12

(a)

Panel

The Secretary of Education shall convene a panel to produce voluntary national expectations for mathematics and science education, accompanied by a sample curriculum for mathematics and science and assessment items for each expectation, for kindergarten through grade 12. (b)

Members of panel

The panel described in subsection (a) shall be composed of— (1)professionals from the National Academy of Sciences; (2)psychometricians; (3)State-level education officials; (4)National Board certified teachers; (5)recipients of Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching under section 117(a) of the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. 1881b(a)); (6)representatives of the National Science Foundation; (7)representatives of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics; (8)representatives of the National Science Teachers Association; and (9)members of any other entities that the Secretary of Education determines necessary. (c)

Duties of panel

The panel described in subsection (a) shall— (1)identify the core ideas in mathematics and science common to all States; (2)develop a minimum comprehensive set of voluntary national expectations for mathematics and science, based on the core ideas in mathematics and science common to all States, that are taken, or adapted, from— (A)the effective State mathematics and science standards, as of the date of enactment of this Act; or (B)the most recent National Science Education Standards developed by the National Science Teacher Association and the most recent Principles and Standards for School Mathematics developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics; (3)develop a model curriculum for mathematics and science based on the voluntary national expectations, that is taken or adapted from effective State mathematics and science teaching materials to serve as a voluntary national curriculum; (4)develop sample assessment questions based on each national mathematics and science expectation for teachers to use throughout the school year to guide instruction; and (5)develop and coordinate professional development criteria that would prepare teachers to incorporate the voluntary national expectations. (d)

Personnel matters

(1)

Compensation of members

Each member of the panel who is not an officer or employee of the Federal Government shall be compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (including travel time) during which such member is engaged in the performance of the duties of the panel. All members of the panel who are officers or employees of the United States shall serve without compensation in addition to that received for their services as officers or employees of the United States. (2)

Travel expenses

The members of the panel shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or regular places of business in the performance of services for the panel. (e)

Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2007 and 2008.

4.

Grants to State educational agencies

(a)

In general

From amounts appropriated under subsection (e) for a fiscal year, the Secretary of Education shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible State educational agencies to enable the eligible State educational agencies to carry out all of the following: (1)Contract with entities that publish educational materials, in order to develop instructional materials based on the voluntary national curriculum for mathematics and science developed under section 3(c)(3), in order to effectively teach the voluntary national expectations developed under such section. (2)Ensure that the eligible State educational agency has the infrastructure and technical assistance necessary to provide all instructional materials developed under paragraph (1) online and free of charge to teachers and school faculty and staff. (3)Train mathematics and science teachers in kindergarten through grade 12— (A)to effectively use instructional materials to teach the voluntary national expectations for mathematics and science produced under section 3(c)(2); and (B)to use the assessment questions developed under section 3(c)(4) to steer instruction. (b)

Application

An eligible State educational agency desiring a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary of Education at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. The application shall include a description of the activities that will be carried out through a grant under this section. (c)

Report

Not later than 60 days after the last day of the grant period, an eligible State educational agency receiving a grant under this section shall prepare and submit a report to the Secretary of Education describing the results of the grant. (d)

Definition of eligible state educational agency

In this section, the term eligible State educational agency means a State educational agency that agrees to adopt and implement the voluntary national expectations and the voluntary national curriculum for mathematics and science education in kindergarten through grade 12 that are developed under section 3. (e)

Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section a total of $100,000,000 for the fiscal years 2007 through 2011.

5.

Report

Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Education shall— (1)study the effects of the voluntary national expectations and the voluntary national curriculum of mathematics and science on student achievement developed under section 3 on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, and the Programme for International Student Assessment, for the most recent year available, as compared to the effects of State standards and curricula on student achievement on such assessments; and (2)shall prepare and submit a report to Congress on the Secretary's findings.