NCTM President Diane Briars spoke on "ESEA and the Future STEM Workforce" at a Capitol Hill briefing for congressional staff on March 23 on issues related to the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (No Child Left Behind).
Briars spoke about the importance of balanced assessments in mathematics and STEM subjects. She offered suggestions for what policymakers should look for and what they can do to develop policies that will result in a more reasonable approach to assessments than is seen in many schools today. She said that an effective assessment system should disaggregate data for different populations of students and must assess of all aspects of mathematical knowledge: procedural skills, conceptual understanding, problem solving, reasoning, and ability to construct and evaluate mathematical arguments. Finally, she emphasized that assessments used in different state education agencies and local education agencies should be of comparably high quality. Briars asserted that performance-based assessments should be mandatory, not optional, since they are essential for assessing students' problem-solving and reasoning capabilities. She also advocated eliminating costly multiple statewide assessments, owing to their limited value, and she suggested that investing in formative assessments at the school and classroom level is a better way to monitor students' progress.
Briars also emphasized the importance of sustained professional development for teachers. She explained the importance of early childhood learning and cited research indicating that preschool mathematics knowledge predicts academic achievement in other subjects well into high school.
The House STEM Caucus presented the event, which included STEM Education Coalition executive director James Brown and Christine Scullion of the National Association of Manufacturers. National Science Teachers Association executive director David Evans welcomed legislative staff and other attendees and introduced Cullen White, who moderated the panel. White is supervisor of IT Academy Programs at Prince George's County Public Schools in Maryland and a former Teach for America teacher.
Brown offered an overview of STEM issues and the STEM community's priorities, one of which is including science in the accountability system, to place it on a par with mathematics and English and language arts. He also explained the importance of dedicated funding for the Math-Science Partnerships program, a priority that was reiterated by Briars. Christine Scullion spoke from a business perspective and highlighted the need for a more robust pipeline of STEM graduates to fill the currently unmet needs of employers for qualified STEM workers.
The briefing was cosponsored by the American Chemical Society, the American Society for Mechanical Engineers, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the National Science Teachers Association, the STEM Education Coalition, and Teach for America. Approximately 100 House and Senate legislative staff attended the briefing, along with a few representatives from education, business, and other STEM organizations.