[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 106 (Thursday, August 3, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8808-S8809]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. CLINTON:
  S. 3790. 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; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation to 
help ensure that American students are competitive in the global 
economy of 21st century. If approved, The National Mathematics and 
Science Consistency Act would ensure that America's children have 
access to a rigorous math and science education. This bill will help 
young men and women in America compete successfully with students from 
around the world.
  Last fall the National Academy of Sciences, NAS, outlined the 
challenges to American competitiveness in its report, ``Rising Above 
the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter 
Economic Future.'' The reality is that modern technology makes it 
increasingly possible for employers to hire the most skilled workers 
wherever in the world they live. Unfortunately, too many American 
students--even some graduates of high school and college--are not 
equipped with the skills they need to compete successfully in the 
global economy.
  Among 12th graders, America ranks 21st out of 40 industrialized 
nations in tests of math and science knowledge. Just one in three of 
America's college graduates earn degrees in math, science, and 
engineering while two in three college graduates of other countries do 
so. We must act now to improve education and research in science, 
technology, engineering, and mathematics, STEM, if America is to retain 
leadership of the global economy in the 21st century.
  In ``Rising Above the Gathering Storm,'' the National Academy of 
Sciences made 20 recommendations for how America can increase its 
global competitiveness. Nineteen of the 20 recommendations were 
proposed in the PACE Acts--PACE-Education, PACE-Energy, and PACE-
Finance. I was proud to cosponsor these bills, and it is a testament to 
the widespread concern regarding this issue that each bill has been 
cosponsored by more than 60 Senators.
  The Mathematics and Science Consistency Act would implement the final 
NAS recommendation--for the Department of Education to convene a 
national panel of experts that will collect proven effective K-12 
science and mathematics teaching materials, and, if effective models 
don't exist, create new ones. All materials would be made available 
online, free of charge, as a voluntary national curriculum that would 
provide an effective standard for K-12 teachers to use as a resource.
  Regrettably, many States have set standards for math and science 
education at an abysmally low level. A Fordham report entitled ``The 
State of State Science Standards 2005'' found that nearly half of the 
States are doing a poor job of setting academic standards for science.
  The result of low State standards is that States think their students 
are passing, teachers think their students are passing, and students 
think they are passing when they in fact are not. For example, a review 
of 12 diverse States by a team at the University of California at 
Berkeley found that the typical State reports that 77 percent of its 
fourth graders are proficient in mathematics as assessed by the State 
standard, while just 36.5 percent of fourth grade students in the 
typical State score as proficient in mathematics as assessed by the 
gold-standard National Assessment of Education Progress. Lowering 
academic standards does not adequately prepare our students to meet the 
demands of the global economy.
  The Mathematics and Science Consistency Act will help States raise 
standards and invest in high-quality teaching through the collection of 
best practices and ensure that a world-class curriculum is available. 
Under my bill, it is entirely up to States whether to adopt the 
recommendations of the panel. States that do would be eligible for 
grants to acquire instructional materials, to make those materials 
available online and free to teachers and school staff, and to train 
teachers to effectively use the instructional materials.
  Again, I want to emphasize that this bill provides assistance to 
States that wish to work together to ensure that all children are 
taught a rigorous, common curriculum. The Mathematics and

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Science Consistency Act would implement the final recommendation made 
in the Gathering Storm report, and it will help ensure that our 
children are prepared to compete with success in the 21st century.
  It is high time to do what is best for our children and their 
economic future. I am hopeful that my Senate colleagues from both sides 
of the aisle will join me today to move this legislation to the floor 
without delay.
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