Final Report Presentation by The National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century
Webcast on ConnectLive.com Networks

Wednesday, September 27, 2000 - 10:00 a.m. EDT

Complete Transcript

- Senator John Glenn, Commission Chair
- Education Secretary Richard W. Riley
- Carol Daniels, Principal, J.E.B. Stuart Middle School, Jacksonville, Fla.
- Craig R. Barrett, President and CEO, Intel Corp., Commission Member

JACK DAILEY: Well, good morning, ladies and gentlemen, I'm Jack Dailey, the director of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. I want to welcome you here this morning. In addition to being the country's most visited museum, this institution is a center for research into the history, science and technology of flight and space exploration. Our commitment to learning is the driving force behind all of the exhibitions, programs, and publications we produce. It is therefore an honor to welcome the members of the National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century, and it's now my privilege to introduce the chair of the commission, Senator John Glenn.

SENATOR JOHN GLENN: Thank you. [Applause] Thank you, General Dailey, very, very much, a good friend of long-standing. We spent a lot of years in the Marine Corps together.

Mr. Secretary, members of the commission, and ladies and gentlemen, last July on the very appropriate date of the 30th anniversary of the first moon landing, Secretary Riley convened this commission, and he asked us to investigate and report on the quality of mathematics and science teaching, specifically on teaching in the nation, and directed us to consider ways of improving recruitment, preparation, retention, and professional growth for mathematics and science teachers in kindergarten through 12 classrooms nationwide. He also reminded us that three decades after an historic achievement, in his words, that we need to set the stage for advancement in mathematics and science for the next 30 years.

Mr. Secretary, we've done what you asked us, and what we have learned and what we believe must now be done are summarized in our report titled "Before It's Too Late" which we're presenting to you today. And if you detect a note of urgency in that title, then our basic message to you and to the American people is already clear. Because what we found out in more than a year of study and listening to experts and debate among ourselves turned out to be very disturbing. Your concerns were and are well founded.

We provide just a couple of illustrations from the report. The Third International Mathematics and Science Study -- TIMS, as it's come to be known in educational circles -- shows that among students from 41 nations, our American fourth-grade children are among the leaders, the top two or three countries in the world. By the time American students graduated from high school, they were almost last. They are about two or three from the bottom in that list of nations. In other words, our kids are losing ground in mathematics and science compared -- now that's compared. It doesn't mean that our scores have not been moving up. I think we should point that out. Our kids haven't been doing worse and worse and worse compared to our own people within our own borders here, but compared to other nations around the world, and the emphasis that these other nations are placing on math and science, compared to them, our youngsters are going downhill. And so those are the people with whom we're competing economically and technologically.

Also here at home the National Assessment for Education Progress, NAEP, points in the same direction. In 1996, more than a third of U.S. students scored below basic, which means they lacked even partial mastery of the knowledge and skills needed to score at the proficient level, let alone advanced level. Based on the commission's findings, we have branded this performance just plain unacceptable.

But our goal was not simply to diagnose the problems. It was to prescribe specific actions to correct these problems also. Make no mistake, there's a divide that now exists between our schools, mathematics and science education, and the rest of the world, and the gap must be closed, and we with some effort can do it, and I emphasize that. This is not something we should just wring our hands over because it's doable, we can do this. And so that's the message or one of the messages that I want to bring today, that we very much can do this if we want to do it.

But why is math and science so important for our young people? Well, take a look at the rest of the world. Our world is the world of a global marketplace now. It's where science and mathematics, technology, and innovation are calling the shots, and that's something that we've got to remember. Globalization has occurred. It's no longer a futuristic theory; it's here. All you have to do is turn on your morning TV and you see the Wall Street quotes, you see the Hang Seng index, the Nikkei average, the Frankfurt and Zurich quotes, the euro-dollar quotes, right on around the world, indicating that hundreds of billions of dollars are flowing around the world in either overnight money or weekly money, monthly money, looking for places to invest, to create those good, high-paying jobs of the future.

Now, there's another reason, too, why I don't want to see us ever get behind in this area of science and technology. The military security of the United States will depend on math and science, and that's an area in which we can never settle for being anything but the very best in the whole world. And our standard of living depends on jobs, of course, on the jobs that I've mentioned a moment ago, but it will also improve with medical advances, with a cure for cancer one of these days, with new pharmaceuticals, transportation, autos, airplanes, new engines, safety, environmental concerns, and so much more -- all dependent on the mastery of math and science. No American worker can contribute nor can our nation be competitive and militarily secure, nor make great advances for the future without the knowledge and skills that a thorough grounding in mathematics and science provides.

But as our report states, at one point, and I quote, "Among the scarier statistics reported by one American think tank, 60 percent of all new jobs in the 21st century will require skills that are possessed by only 20 percent of the current work force." That's a rather frightening quote. So these figures compel me to upgrade our previous word of "unacceptable" perhaps to a stronger word of "dangerous," and I think we must address the problem forcefully and persistently.

Now, study after study has shown teacher quality to be the key -- teacher quality to be the key. Good teachers, good students. Poor teachers, poor student performance. It comes down to that as a summary of our findings. Now, I don't want to degrade or decry the great, great teachers that are out there now and doing such a wonderful job because there are many great teachers in our schools, doing a superb job of teaching and motivating students to superior performance. But, unfortunately, too many are not in that category. Too many new teachers, for instance, are just unqualified, hired with little or no background for the job. And too many new teachers also supposedly qualified actually have insufficient content knowledge and method for math and science instruction. Many teachers in existence right now that are out there teaching have limited skills that haven't been upgraded for a number of years.

And most disturbing to me, and I think to the commission also, too many of our qualified teachers, the best, those we depend on, are leaving the profession. Let me give a couple of illustrative facts here. One-fourth of our math and science teachers are teaching out of field, and by that we mean never had a major or a minor in the subject they are teaching in their own collegiate years. Never had a major or minor in math or science during their own scholastic training. In other words, they're just filling the gap. And 30 percent of our new teachers leave within three years. And for those who stay with teaching, there usually is little opportunity to really upgrade, and we address that in our report.

The commission's basic conclusion, then, Mr. Secretary is that we must tackle the problem directly, and in that regard we offer a three-goal strategy.

First, we have to improve the quality of math and science education now, right in our schools, right now by radically and systematically improving the professional development of teachers. This is true not only for existing teachers but for those entering the field. Pre-service, professional development must start before a new teacher walks through the door.

Secondly, we must significantly increase the quantity or number of teachers that this nation puts into the nation's mathematics and science classrooms -- significantly improve their preparation and do it quickly. Let's not forget qualified mid-career professionals, also, people who want to change professions or people with college degrees coming out of the military after having served 20 years who are in mid career and can be trained to take over in this particular area. So let's not forget the mid-career professionals with an interest in teaching math and science. They're a wonderful resource.

Third, we have to improve the working environment for teachers and make the teaching profession much more attractive for all K-12 mathematics and science teachers. Incentives for retention are key, especially because of America's tight job market right now. At that point we have more than a little bit to say about what teachers are paid. And in this country in light of what we as a nation ask them to do, I believe the word that we use in the report, Mr. Secretary, is "scandalous." It does appear in that section of the report.

For each of these goals we've provided a list of concrete action steps that we believe can and should be taken to turn mathematics and science teaching around in America, and I repeat, we're optimistic we can do this. I don't want this report to be looked at as doom and gloom and discourage people. These are things that are all very, very doable. And I'll highlight just a few examples of new and tangible initiatives we can offer current teachers as well as new hires or people considering teaching as an occupation.

It would have math and science teaching academies, and before that word "academies" scares anyone, let me add that that's not new brick-and-mortar buildings that we're talking about. Academies are academies that will be formed within existing institutions, institutions of higher education or perhaps some others or universities or whatever. But we're not proposing putting a lot of money into great new structures out there when we talk about academies. We recommend that under those academies a fellowship program be created to provide a one-year preparation program for those talented mid-career professionals that I mentioned a moment ago. Our teaching academies would produce a new crop of well-versed teachers not currently in the math and science pipeline.

Two under this would be summer institutes. We must offer an opportunity for both new and existing teachers to hone their skills and improve their knowledge in a concentrated session. Ongoing professional development is critical in any field, but especially relevant for the professionals who are charged with the training and development of America's future -- our children. With the summer institute we're proposing inquiry groups, those self-generating peer groups that can share information back and forth and will redefine the learning curve of math and science teachers by generating continual, new knowledge. It will also create an outlet for learning opportunities, both locally and beyond its own dedicated Internet portal. The Internet portal, of course, is that new information flow of the future that is going to just revolutionize a lot of things, has already revolutionized so many things, and will do the same in education over a period of time.

Third, reward and recognition program. Thirty-two thousand teachers, math and science teachers, leave the profession every year. That's about 11 percent of the total. They leave every year. Now, most cite dissatisfaction and discouragement as the primary reasons. Dissatisfaction over low pay and a lack of respect have no place in America's classrooms. Let's raise salaries and accountability right along with it, accountability proportionally, and provide clear incentives for outstanding performance. And let's reward an entire school when it demonstrates higher student achievement in math and science.

Number four, a loan forgiveness program. Let's give people interested in teaching math or science an incentive to become teachers. Making 6,000 college loans available immediately will bring new students into the teaching pipeline as well as persuade some of those who are already in it to actually take teaching jobs upon graduation, as many do not. The assurance of loan forgiveness is a powerful incentive. And the number of new loans each year can be adjusted to fit the demand for math and science teachers. You know, the GI Bill changed a nation, and I think this, the proposals we make here, can do the same thing.

Mr. Secretary, to make a more practical guide than most educational reports, we have included a starting checklist for the major educational stakeholders, and these are just some of the action steps we're proposing, Mr. Secretary. Because I do want you to read the whole report and not just the executive summary, I'll leave the rest for you, but we're very quick to point out those action steps will not be easy to achieve. There's a job there for everyone, from parents and students to teachers, superintendents, school boards, to legislators, governors, to the federal government, to business and industry.

And I personally want to point out one that the commission heard me talk about a lot during our meetings, but I personally feel that we must emphasize the role of the school boards. I don't think most Americans realize the uniqueness of our K-12 educational system in comparison with the rest of the world, our competitors. Other nations of the world, our competitors, all have nationally operated school systems and educational programs operated nationally that can change policies and programs far more easily than our diverse, nearly 16,000 school boards, K-12 independently elected, all too many of them promising a lot of things for local political reasons, whatever. And that compares then, our system, K-12, with national systems in other countries that are controlled nationally, the policies are set nationally, the goals are set nationally, and they can change direction far more readily than trying to influence some 16,000 independent school boards. But those boards, properly motivated, can be the most immediate and effective engines for math and science technology change. They are in charge, but they need the help of all the other players.

Also, Mr. Secretary, the Disney Learning Partnership is gifting the commission a videotape highlighting the recommendations of the report, and we want this to be widely disseminated, particularly to those school board members. And we hope we can contact -- I have as a goal trying to contact every one of those school board members across this country, not just the board, the 16,000, but have direct contact through mail and through these videos with those individual board members.

We're perhaps most clear, Mr. Secretary, that unless we begin our pursuit of these goals today, this nation may arrive on tomorrow's doorstep a day late and a dollar short. So we believe our report is aptly titled. We have to begin now, as the title says, before it's too late. The 21st century and our children demand no less.

And we want to commend you, Mr. Secretary, for setting a fast pace by convening this commission now, not putting it off. I know you're optimistic that we can do this, Mr. Secretary, and the commission is optimistic that we can, and we just hope everyone adopts that same can-do attitude. If we do that, then this report will have been very much worthwhile.

This commission was nonpartisan. We didn't go at our job with a view of making it a policy that would come out one way or the other. In fact, when the commission started its meetings, we didn't even know who the candidates were going to be, I guess, back at that time. So this was an issue we went at as a nonpartisan issue on behalf of all of America's children. That's the important thing.

So profound thanks to the members of this commission for their service, both to the nation's children and to our country. They have worked long and hard, and every American has every reason to be proud of what this commission has accomplished on their behalf. So I also want to thank all those who took time to come and talk to us and who wrote reports about their own research for us to consider. Their input has been invaluable to our process.

And finally, I want to thank the members of the staff who have been so ably led by the staff director of the commission, Dr. Linda Rosen. I told her this morning I didn't think she needed any hobbies to keep her busy here for a little while. Keeping a 25-member commission on task, all of whom have very strong opinions, was no easy job, but they have done it magnificently. Linda, I wanted to have you stand here. Where are you at here? I wanted to give her special recognition. [Applause]

Linda has been the one that really kept us on track all the way through and has run the staff and had done all the work of getting this report out. And while we stand up here today and take a lot of credit for these things, it was Linda that did the bulk of the work on it.

So, with those remarks, I would like to, Mr. Secretary, introduce you. Secretary Dick Riley, I think, has been an outstanding Secretary of Education. He has done a wonderful job. [Applause] And it's because in talking to him so many times when he was still a governor in South Carolina, and before he was in this Secretary of Education position, I knew personally of his interest in education back in those days, and he was trying to put the ideas forward within his state, and then had a chance to work with us across the board here in Washington. He has done such an outstanding job in this, and it's really a pleasure for me to introduce the Secretary of Education, Dick Riley. [Applause]

DICK RILEY: Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. It's grand to be here at the National Air and Space Museum. And with the environment here, I know John Glenn is well at home. And I'm so pleased to be here with the commission that has done such a grand job and all of the participants on the program. I see that Annie Glenn is here and my wife. Why don't you all stand? [Applause] I thought I had been married longer than anybody in America until I ran into John and Annie. They have outdone me a couple of years.

I'm happy to be in this wonderful, magnificent building. It stands in tribute to America's accomplishments in space and also to John Glenn, the great patriot. He is the very embodiment of the heights of American achievement in mathematics and science. When I called him and asked him to do this, he had people calling him and asking him to do things all over America -- I guess thousands -- and he decided he would make this his next mission for this country. On behalf of our department and a grateful nation, I thank you, John, for your many contributions, for leading this commission's findings as shown by this fine report. And all the commission members, my thanks for your willingness to strive to improve American mathematics and science teaching and learning. I would also join with thanking Linda Rosen, the executive director and our chief mathematics advisor, her tireless work. And I don't want to over-introduce her and have her stand again, but, Linda, we thank you so much for the great leadership and long hours that you've provided. I'm very proud of my staff, and I see others here, all quality people. But through it all, commission members shared their considerable knowledge and vision for educational excellence in these two important fields of learning. The commission members may be well skilled in adding up numbers and understanding formulas, but I think it's safe to say that here their contribution is really immeasurable, and I thank you for it.

Now, I called for the creation of the commission because I saw the urgent need to recruit new teachers. Actually we need new teachers in every field. I've talked and talked about the need for 2.2 million new teachers over the next ten years ever since I've been here. It continues to be a critical need, but it is a special critical need in terms of math and science. It is a critical need, indeed, for this country. And, you know, just as we need, as John said, to call on patriotic Americans to come forth, to step forward in times of war, we need patriotic Americans today to work together to face our future with strength in this era of science and math technology. This is the patriot of today, in this peacetime of ours. And I'll tell you, nothing could be more important for this country and our future.

The commission calls for much greater investment in the teaching profession, particularly in math and science disciplines, and I thoroughly agree. And while this is a comprehensive blueprint and a long-term prescription for success, Congress can do something that will make a difference right now. We have members of Congress here who are very supportive of these ideas. Unfortunately, Congress to date has failed to act on our proposed overall elementary and secondary programs that's been out there, and it has not passed the reauthorization. But it can and must still approve the president's budget request to improve the quality of our teachers -- a major request, around a billion dollars -- reduce class size, strengthen accountability for results, and make other crucial investments in our schools. That can be done right now. This support would be a strong down payment on the kind of investment that this commission has called for.

Now, we know that we must take steps immediately and meet the current shortage of math and science teachers. It's not something that is out there in the future. We also must invest wisely in the recruitment in the professional development and the retention of these teachers if we're going to accommodate the explosion of knowledge in these two fields as well as the uninterrupted increase in school enrollment projected through this century. It's going up and up and up. I can attest to the strength and the purpose and the dedication of many hundreds and thousands of classroom teachers. They're out there working today and who will welcome the support that's called for in this report.

Many of us have known for sometime that math and science learning is at a crossroads. One reason, of course, is the sheer amount of innovation and new knowledge in these fields just in this past decade. Our increasing reliance on computers, the growing globalization in business, other consequences of the Information Age, all are placing greater demands on our schools and our students. We need to meet these challenges if we're going to maintain our preeminence in these areas in this 21st century. This is our national mission, and we must face it as such.

This commission has worked hard to identify how this can be done and how it should be done. It is a wonderful starting point, a blueprint for building a program of success that will ensure American children meet the math and science challenges that they face in life. We've worked hard to lay a foundation for a strong future. We know what's needed. We have a wonderful standards movement going on, and in process in every state. All 50 states are working in the standards movement. We see these wonderful things happening, this wonderful action that's taking place, but this need for teachers, especially in the math and science area, is a crisis.

This report makes more clear the convergence of several factors: higher learning standards that I mentioned, a strong economy, a richer knowledge base with math and science teaching, an increased spirit of volunteerism -- and some of that is involved certainly in this commission -- and an historic public awareness of the importance of education. I've never seen anything like it. All of this make this the ideal time, the ideal time to move forward in a sense of urgency. This administration has proudly played a role in helping bring about the convergence of these factors from high standards to building a strong economy. And as Senator Glenn might well remind us, when it comes to math and science learning, as well as all of our educational endeavors, we must remember to be on solid ground before we reach for the stars.

But we must make the important decisions today so that the children of America do have the preparation to reach for the stars. And, yes, as this commission says, teachers are the key. This report provides an excellent launch pad, and I thank all of you again for your efforts. I look forward to sharing this report with the president and to discussing these matters with him and to continue our progress toward educational excellence in all of these areas. This is a point of beginning, and I look forward to our mission together. Thank you. [Applause]

SEN. JOHN GLENN: Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Thank you much. The next person making remarks, we asked Carol Daniels to come with us today. She is from Duvall County Public Schools in Jacksonville, Florida, and she's the principal of the Jeb Stuart Middle School. And at that school they have been trying many of these things out, trying some of the action strategies that we have in this report. I don't mean they generate them just as this commission; they have been trying them out for some years there. So we do have some records from schools, particularly this one, where some of these ideas have been tried. Carol, we welcome you today. Thank you for being with us. [Applause]

CAROL DANIELS: Thank you, Mr. Secretary, Senator Glenn, members of the commission, ladies and gentlemen. I am very honored and pleased to have this opportunity to speak with you this morning.

I have an exciting life. Every day I walk through the doors of a special, wonderful place -- the Jeb Stuart Middle School in Jacksonville, Florida. I am its principal. This excites me. Every day I speak with children, teachers, and parents, and every day I watch each grow and develop. Every day I tend to a garden of possibilities and learning that contains the seed of America's tomorrow. And when I leave for the day, I think of this garden and this excites me.

This year the garden has been particularly fruitful. In the halls of my school, I ask students to explain, not just recite, what they have learned. Previously the students had difficulty answering those questions, especially questions on mathematics. They would search for a response, trying to remember something the teacher had said. Today, however, when I ask the same questions, I get clear and usually correct answers. So what happened? Did the math become easier or the children suddenly smarter?

No. The change took place with the teachers. Simply, they became better at teaching the complicated subject of mathematics. This transformation -- and I don't believe that is too strong a term -- is due in large part to an ongoing professional development program in our school. At Jeb Stuart Middle School, our teachers get release time to observe their peers in action. They watch real-time classroom interaction. We also designate one teacher on each team to serve as a professional development implementor, and the emphasis is on the mentor. This person helps teachers reflect on the practice of teaching, and then shares new information and lessons learned in our weekly team meetings.

There is an abounding myth that teachers don't want or appreciate professional development programs. This couldn't be less true. I know the teachers in our schools will be thrilled with the findings and recommendations of the Glenn Commission Report, especially professional development programs such as the inquiry groups, summer institutes, and the rewards and incentive programs.

In Jacksonville, we are moving in the right direction. We are fortunate. Our school district, led by our school board, under the leadership of a truly visionary superintendent, John Fryer, is progressive. Together we are out to change the culture of teaching, a culture that can be both territorial and routine. We want to change this culture to collaborative and innovative.

But I don't want to paint too rosy a picture. First, any change, however slight, is difficult. It takes work, commitment, time, and resources. School districts can no longer afford to conduct business as usual. Many schools cannot get enough government funding to pay for their ideas, however good they may be. The commission report calls to correct these problems for every school in every district, for every student in our country. Instead of business as usual, we want business as needed, to support teacher growth and student learning.

People who choose teaching come to the profession with a passion and a deep-seated sense of purpose. They believe they can affect the future of our nation, and they trust in their work. They certainly don't go into it for the money. The tragedy is that many find their initial passion dimmed. Poor conditions in schools, and a lack of respect in society exact a terrible toll. It exacts a price. But, yet, there is a dedication. Teaching is not the safe job you take because something else didn't work out. It is not Plan B. Teaching requires passion, and that passion needs to be constantly fueled.

But teachers must also marry this passion with decision-making skills and in-depth knowledge. In other words, teachers are not born -- they are made. The teachers in my school welcome the support and the interest in their careers, and it is here the recommendations outlined in the Glenn Commission Report will find a natural audience.

Our children already live in a very conflicted society. The last thing children need are inconsistent and unclear lessons coming from those charged with teaching them on a daily basis. We have started on this road, but we have a long way to go. Our goal is to keep going.

I want to end with one final thought. Teaching is a craft, and as with any craft, it takes constant work to stay sharp and current. Schools can have all the bells and whistles, but the most significant factor in any child's education is the classroom teacher. Let us take time and effort to provide our teachers with the same opportunities we want to provide our students.

Children respond best when they know what is expected. I have a hunch -- actually it's more like inside knowledge -- that teachers do as well. Speaking today has given me an opportunity to brag both about my profession, a profession that provides tremendous satisfaction, and the work done by the Glenn Commission. It is also a cautionary note, to say our work has only begun, and won't be finished until every student is served with the best possible instruction. Let's hope the days of paying lip service to educational improvements are behind us, and the years of action for each student and teacher in this country are set to arrive. To watch my children and teachers grow before my eyes is a remarkable experience. I hope you have had or will have the same opportunity to share in my excitement. Thank you for your time and attention. [Applause]

SEN. JOHN GLENN: Thank you, Carol. We're into the computer age and all the Internet and all this flow of information all over the world, and none of it would happen unless we had the machines, unless we had the computers, and they are dependent upon the chips that are in those, the microprocessing chips and all that are in those, the memory chips. The leading producer of those chips in the world is Intel, and I'm sure on many of your computers that you have at home or at the office or wherever it says right there on the front of that little thing, they have a little note in there. It says, "Intel Pentium I, Pentium II, Pentium III," and so on. You've seen that.

Well, the CEO and president of Intel is Craig Barrett. He is a leader in this industry and not just in the production, but they're now branching out into some other areas in that industry also. And he's been a passionate voice for industry's needs for well-educated citizenry in this regard, in math and science. He comes with a background being a professor at Stanford before he got over into his other current endeavors. And Intel has poured millions and millions and millions. The figure that comes to mind is $160 million a year or something like that, I think I was told, into education because of some of the deficiencies of our kids coming out of school. And several years ago we passed, while I was still in the Senate, we passed special immigration legislation to permit people to come into the country to fill in in this computer industry because they were qualified and our people here were not in sufficient numbers to fill those same jobs. So he has seen it from industry's side, he has seen it from the university side, and I can assure you that we have our e-mails back and forth during all the deliberations over our report, and no one has been more forthright with his ideas and criticism, the practicality, the time frame than Craig Barrett. Craig, it's a pleasure to have you with us here today. [Applause]

CRAIG BARRETT: Thank you, John. It's a pleasure to be here representing so many of our commission members who worked so hard on this task. The topic we're addressing, I think, is one of the, perhaps the most important facing the United States today, and that is how we prepare and educate our young people to take a productive place in the new economy that's encompassing the world. It's very interesting that at a time when high technology is driving the U.S. economy to be the envy of the world, we have tens of thousands of high-tech jobs that are going unfilled, we're witnessing a decrease, an absolute decrease in the number of engineering graduates in these high-tech fields of study, and as you've heard already, our 12th graders when they graduate from high school on average are deficient in their knowledge of math and science. And it's certainly not the children's fault. My own small, random sampling, I have four grandchildren, and I know they're all a heck of a lot smarter at their age than I was at that age, so it's really not the children's fault that they're deficient when they get out. The system is not doing a good job for them.

The fact is that as we fall behind the rest of the world in this area, I think it is a substantial problem for us. Each year in the form of business travel I visit 30 to 35 countries around the world, and I make a point in those countries of talking to government leaders and educators. And, to a country, they all recognize the bottom-line fact that they need to prepare their youngsters with math and science knowledge to participate in the new economy in the world. Everywhere that I go I see action taking place, and it's rather disappointing when I come back to the United States and I see the results coming out of our school system, and I realize that we spend most of our time talking about this topic and very little time doing anything about it.

If you look at the new economy, and it has various definitions, but there are few laws that help drive this new economy, and two of the ones that I'm most familiar with, one is Moore's Law, which many of you know, named after Gordon Moore, the founder of Intel, that basically says the amount of computing power in an integrated circuit or microprocessor doubles every 18 months or so. That's been going on now for about 40 years and will clearly go on for another 10 to 20 years. The second is Metcalfe's Law, and Metcalfe's Law basically states that the value of a network is proportional to the square of the number of nodes on that network. And if you combine these two laws, what they have really given us, one of the things they have given us, is the Internet. The value of the Internet is really there because there are so many people connected to it.

Now, the Internet is a wonderful thing. It provides an individual access to all the information in the world. It does allow you to communicate instantaneously your feelings and passions on any topic, and I did take advantage, as John mentioned, to use e-mail and the Internet to communicate with Linda Rosen and Senator Glenn on a number of occasions. But the Internet, with all of its wonder and the personal computer with all of its wonder, are basically just tools, and as tools they're relatively useless and unimportant in the greater scheme of things unless they're put in the hands of someone who knows how to use them, someone who can tap the full potential of their capability. And we would like to say at Intel and in our industry when we talk about the role of technology in the education process, that computers and the Internet are not magic. The only thing magic in the classroom are the teachers, and the real issue here is, can the teachers use the technology? Can the teachers absorb the technology and use it to benefit the education of the young children?

Now, teachers are the key to improving math and science education in the United States, and the Glenn Commission report tells, I think, very succinctly the things that we need to do, and they're really not rocket science, and I do respect you, Senator. They are very straightforward. Basically, hire the best teachers, provide them an environment in which to carry out their profession, provide them an environment where professional development is a constant, ongoing activity. Hold them accountable for results. I think this is one of the very significant issues that we've discussed with the commission and has really gone around the United States today, the issue of accountability both at the classroom level, the school level, the school district level, at the state level.

If you're going to hold people accountable for results, I think it's only appropriate that you reward them effectively when they do provide the results you're looking for. That's one of the recommendations of the Glenn Commission Report. Perhaps most important, I think the unwritten recommendation in the report is once you've hired teachers, you provide them professional development, you hold them accountable, hold the system accountable, you reward them for doing a good job, then you get out of the way. I think that that's one of the issues that we need to face, and that is, let the teachers do their job. Give them the tools and the capability they need to do the job, and then let them get on with it.

Clearly, inherent in this whole approach is bringing a number of constituencies together -- the government, the U.S. government, state governments, local governments, school districts, teachers, industry, parents, educators, the educational institutions that educate our teachers. The Glenn Commission recommendations really address the appropriate roles of all of these constituents, but I would like to simply add to it a sense of impatience.

I work in an industry where our product line turns over every year. Ninety percent of our revenue in December of each year comes from products which were not in the marketplace in January of that year. A year to me is a very, very long time. What I would like us to do and us to remember as we take these recommendations is that we can probably do things which most of you don't believe is possible in an appropriate time frame. I would like us to implement programs to get more qualified teachers now, not five or ten years from now. I would like us to implement standards and accountability now. I would like us to reward teachers for the excellent performance that many, many teachers demonstrate in the classroom now, not five years from now. I would like to us see professional development opportunities made available to teachers now, not five years from now.

I think we are in a crisis, and I think time is an enemy. We need to do things much faster than any of us believe possible. There are no silver bullets in the report, there are no silver bullets to solve this problem. It's a complicated problem. It takes the combination of people from a variety of constituencies. Industry is clearly a major participant and needs to be a major participant. Industry is already spending well over a billion dollars in the educational area, trying to prop up a system which provides them their basic fuel -- their new employees.

As Senator Glenn mentioned, our company alone spends approximately $150 million a year in the education area, trying to improve the system. Much of this money is spent already in areas directly aligned with the recommendations of the Glenn Commission. I believe that there is substantially more money that can be obtained and contributed by industry to implement these programs, but it is not a single effort just by industry. The federal government, state and local governments have to step forward as well and make their contributions. And I think if we all work together in this fashion, we can solve this problem in a reasonable period of time. If you accept that it is a crisis, I think we in the United States respond well to crises. We know how to tackle a problem. We know how to solve problems. But we have to stop talking about this issue, and we have to start doing something about it now before it is too late. Thank you. [Applause]

SEN. JOHN GLENN: Thank you, Craig. I'm sitting here looking around, and of all the rooms we could be in anywhere in the world almost, it seems to me that talking about math and science in this room, of all places, is just about the best place we could possibly be. If you look over your head right here, that's not a model, that's not a replica, not something that was put together in later years off some drawings. That's the original Wright Brothers airplane. The fabric on it's been changed because it got sunk in the 1913 flood in Dayton, and so they had to recover the fabric, but that's the original right there. That's the original, that's the engine. You think of all the computations and all the small wind tunnel tests that the Wright Brothers went through, and you take it right on up through all the other things in this center hall here -- that great Lindbergh's machine up here that crossed the Atlantic, the X-1 up here Chuck Yeager first claimed to exceed the speed of sound. That was supposed to be not possible, remember that? Not possible to exceed the speed of sound, a lot of people thought back in those days. And yet there it is, and that's the first one that exceeded the speed of sound. And, of course, I'm glad that some of the people that did the math and science computation on this little vehicle to my left here, [laughter] especially on the heat shield here, I'm glad that the math and science that went into that was really first-class stuff, I can tell you that.

The point, that back at the beginning of the space program we were behind, and we reacted at that time. We had a good reaction at that time. We established programs, and we went at it, and we are still getting the good effects out of the efforts put forward back in those days. And we could spend all day talking about the different things just within this very hall here, but they are good examples of what happens when there's good math and science available with our workers and with our scientists and everybody involved completely.

Now I'd like to present a number of our commission members are here today. And I would ask the press to note the people I introduce here because when we have question and answers in the press or whatever queries you may have after we finish here in just a few moments, you can address them also to these people who are also all experts in their own right and were either members of the commission or ex-officio members and worked very closely with us. So as I introduce these people, I would ask that you take note of them and we'll have them available for questions here either during the program or immediately thereafter also.

First on the list alphabetically happened to be Craig Barrett that you have already met. Next is Diane Bryers, math director, Pittsburgh Public Schools. Diane, if you would stand up right here. State Representative Cynthia Moore of Chestnut, Florida. Sandra Feldman, President of the American Federation of Teachers. Governor Jim Gehringer of Wyoming. Xavier Gonzalez, math teacher, Pioneer High School in California. Jerome Greenbaum, technology instructor at Monominee Indian Junior High School in Wisconsin. Jeff Hillerstein, adjunct professor of biology, William Paterson University in New Jersey. Congressman Rush Holt of New Jersey. He will be right back. He is already being interviewed. That's good. Paul Kimmelman, superintendent, Northfield School District #31, Illinois. The person I'm working with very closely at Ohio State University, William Kerwin, president of Ohio State University, formerly president of the University of Maryland out here, the Maryland campus, and he came up in the whole mathematical hierarchy as a math professor, and so we're particularly glad to be with him, working with him at Ohio State. Representative Connie Morella, Maryland. Ed Rush, chairman and CEO, State Farm Mutual. Dennis Van Rokel, secretary/treasurer, National Education Association. And ex-officio members Rita Caldwell, NSF, National Science Foundation director. Dan Goldin, NASA administrator, I have worked so much with through the years. Secretary Rodney Slater of Transportation. Rod was here earlier. There he is. Rod, I appreciate you being here. And Jerome "Jerry" Smith, Chancellor for Education and Professional Development at DoD.

These are all experts in this area in their own field and in their own right, and so if there are any questions that the press would have now, I believe we're prepared for that, and we can have -- Linda, I would ask you to come on up here, too, because you're technically into this thing, too. I want her to be here for any questions you might have of her also. Any questions from the press back here or we can have requests for later on. Yes, go ahead, right here.

[Question not able to be heard over the microphone.]

SEN. JOHN GLENN: Yes. The question was at some of the meetings that she had attended as an observer, that I had talked about having a perk chart, so that the things the federal government has to do, state government, state school boards, local school boards, teachers and so on, the things that can be done, and what kind of a time frame. I had talked about putting together one like that. We don't have that. We have had difficulty putting that thing together and getting everybody timed in right on it. What we do have are these check lists that you'll see in the back of the report, though, on the action items that we think they should take, and these are just a start. These are suggested items. I'm sure that school boards, or as individual principals or state legislators look at these, they will come up with a list of their own also.

I would still like to work on the perk chart, but I think that's important so that people see the timeliness of this. As Craig mentioned here, these things have to be done now. They can't be done way out and you can't put off your activity that you could do now waiting for somebody else to do theirs. And if we had a perk chart, it seems to me it would do that, it was difficult to put that together and make a realistic time line out of it. So that's not included in the report right now, at least not right now. Yes?

MAN: The commission didn't address curriculum issues in any way. Why was it that you decided not to address those?

SEN. JOHN GLENN: Our charge from the secretary was that we were to deal with teaching, and the curriculum matters have been studied by some of the organizations, math and science organizations. In fact, an organization that Linda was with previously has -- Linda, where are you? Come on up. The report that we got went into curriculum in great detail, as a matter of fact. Comment here. It was in great detail. Would you comment on that, because that did a lot toward answering your question there of what curriculum should be. Our mission on this was to talk about teaching, the importance of it, and that's what we went into.

LINDA ROSEN: I don't know that I have anything to add. The commission was uniquely constituted to focus on the development of policies, and there have been many other groups that have worked hard on standards that had to do with curriculum. [Inaudible comment from Sen. Glenn to Linda.] There were national standards that come from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, from the National Research Council, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Math Standards, and many of the states have developed their own standards looking at these documents.

SEN. JOHN GLENN: The last one she mentioned there was the one that came out just a short time ago, and that's the one that I was referring to I thought was particularly good. It was very complete. Congressman Holt?

RUSH HOLT: You spoke earlier in answer to the question about schedule and responsibilities for various groups, and there's a lot to be done by all Americans, by parents, by school boards, by business and industry. But there are also some things that fall to the federal government. And I just wanted to let you know that we are already in the process of drafting legislation to advance those things, and so that is underway even now.

SEN. JOHN GLENN: Good. Great. Good. Glad to hear that that's news to me, too. Good. [Applause] Great.

WOMAN: Senator, not to be dismissive of the commission's work, but we've been hearing for at least ten years that we're in a crisis, and we're in a dangerous situation as far as the shortage of math and science teachers. Are you growing weary of hearing that drum beat over and over? And how does your message today really differ? We have been hearing, "Hire more teachers, recruit more teachers, and pay them more," for at least ten years.

SEN. JOHN GLENN: Well, I don't know that there is any other commission or study that's gone into it in the kind of depth that we did here. Maybe we can bring enough emphasis to it. I mentioned one spot that I think is a particularly good spot to start, and that's emphasis on the local school boards. They're the ones who can make a change right now. They're the ones who can implement changes right now in their hiring practices and what they require of the principals in their school districts, and so on. I think there are a number of reasons why we think this could be more effective right now.

We're at a time of unprecedented prosperity in this country. The big argument in the public these days is where are we going to spend the surplus, what are we going to do with it? Well, if there ever was a time when we can put more into this, now is that time.

The other thing is we're into a new time warp as far as history goes. I think it puts emphasis on this. I mentioned globalization. That's here. That wasn't here to the extent it was ten years ago right now. Plus, education has gone, in the public polling at least, education has moved from about sixth or seventh in the public's perception of what's important up to number one on the list. And I think that's a -- and the legislatures, whether state or federal, will respond to that kind of public interest in it. It's being talked about in the national race this year, too. They have made it a number-one item. So I think we have a confluence here of not only concern about it but ability to do something about it now. And all these confluence of different things here make it an ideal time to bring this report out, and I hope we can move beyond this being just another study.

I was in the Senate for 24 years and it was a rare two-week period I didn't get some report on education from somebody someplace in the country. And most of them were real bad grade about it. You could take your choice, I guess, and I probably had a stack of them that high after 24 years. And one thing I wanted to be different about this, you'll note in the back of this report we include our first estimates of cost on this. Too many of the reports always recommend all great things, never put a cost to it and who's going to have to do something about it.

The other thing is, in breaking down these checklists in the back we wanted to make this a practical guide on who does what to move us forward in this regard. And those checklists are just the start. These are to give the people involved, the stakeholders in education, an idea of where we think they should go.

I still want to work on the idea of the time line, the perk chart that was mentioned earlier this morning in one of the first questions. But I think this time period is one that enables us to do more about the education situation we're in with math and science than we've ever been able to do before. That's a very good question.

MAN: Senator Glenn, will it help the report or will it hurt the report if your recommendations and your findings become an issue in the presidential campaign?

SEN. JOHN GLENN: Well, it should not be an issue in the presidential campaign. This is bipartisan. It is not that Republicans care about education and Democrats don't, or Democrats care about education and Republicans don't -- either direction. There's everybody. Or if you're an independent or if you're following Nader or whatever you're doing, we all are concerned about our kids and the education they're going to get, and the future of the world and globalization, America's position in it. Are we going to have the good jobs of the future or are our kids going to be the ones leading the world in these different areas? Are we going to be up to snuff militarily so we don't ever have to face a danger in the future of being behind militarily? These are all important things that I think are very important for us to answer right now.

MAN: Senator, with respect to your remarks a few minutes ago, you mentioned that this was a nonpartisan commission and you produced a nonpartisan report. I was following on my colleague's question. I'd be very surprised, and I suspect you would as well, if this report is not in the political arena by close of business today. There has been a charge already in the media over the past several days looking at math and science scores and talking about a recession in education. Why does this report not bolster those kind of charges, or does it, in your opinion?

SEN. JOHN GLENN: Well, I think the answer to that is -- at least my answer to it is -- you've got to compare what's going on in the world, what's happened just in the last few years. And our kids are being tossed now in the competitive world now out there. Globalization has occurred. And I don't think it's not -- it's not that our kids have really gone down as much as we just haven't gone up as much as the rest. And I think that perhaps a better person to answer that one would be Secretary Riley. He's the one that's been in the middle of this one here and would probably welcome a chance to say something about that.

DICK RILEY: Well, and I appreciate the question and I would say this. I think the commission is exactly right. As we have said for a number of years, that there is a real crisis in teachers in the future -- all teachers but especially math and science. But anyone who says -- and this is a nonpartisan group -- but anyone who says that there is a recession in education really doesn't have their eyes open. More is happening in education today than ever in the history of this country. We're making tremendous progress, but this is a crisis. And I think the commission is exactly right.

I will point out that math SAT scores are at a 30-year high. Reading and math scores on the NAEP, the National Assessment Educational Progress Test, have increased for fourth, eighth and twelfth grades since 1992, in a significant way. NAEP scores for 17-year-olds, the same in science, have increased. All the science scores have been rather level. We have lots of wonderful things happening with the e-rate and all of the technology and all of the advance in standards movement. Standards movement brought accountability into education. You can't account for something unless you have something that you can account for. When you have the standards out there in all 50 states and, as John pointed out, that's very complicated. People are working out there day and night and working well. And anybody that goes into any classroom in America will see an excitement and a vibrance going on that they've never seen before.

That doesn't mean that we don't have a crisis in attracting young people into teaching, to teaching them, preparing them better to teach, to giving them the kind of professional development they need to be quality teachers. Those are very serious needs. This commission has addressed that, and as long as I'm here, I'm going to be working to try to help see that what their recommendations there are are carried forward. But anybody that has their eyes open can see a lot of wonderful, wonderful things happening in education. This is the education era and this country is into it, and we're going to get in here and solve this problem, too.

SEN. JOHN GLENN: Anyone else? Yeah.

WOMAN: Yes, Senator Glenn, what do you hope happens next? There are a bunch of different stakeholders, as you say: school boards, schools, elected officials. What do you hope happens next, from the standpoint of the commission?

SEN. JOHN GLENN: Well, we hope that with the wide distribution of this report and with the VHS cassettes that Disney is preparing on this for us to emphasize these same points, we hope to get in touch with every school. I'd like to get in touch with every school board member in America. Now, we may not be able to do quite all that. That would be about 150,000 or so members. I think we do have available the addresses of most of those people though, and so we're going to be moving in that direction, trying to activate them. And I hope that the other people that are involved with this will pick up all the other stakeholders we mentioned here and the role that they can perform will be moved into action by this. Rush has said they're already preparing legislation on the Hill to implement some of these things. A lot of these things will not require legislation to implement, if we can just move people to action. The thing is, comparatively, with other nations around the world, we have been a little complacent, we've been too complacent here, and we need to get going. It's a crisis, we realize that, and we don't want to get behind.

WOMAN: I have a question for Mr. Barrett. At one of the earlier meetings you mentioned that you had a centralized -- you had great theme that you could get business to come in and give that money for education for school. Can you tell us from this report what is that theme, what is that thing that business should pull from that report to polarize them behind this?

CRAIG BARRETT: I think the basic theme in the report is the issue of accountability and reward for performance. I think you should recognize that industry -- not just Intel but many, many companies -- are already involved in this process. There are wonderful examples, just as there are wonderful examples of teachers achieving great results, I think there are great examples of how funding from the private sector is supplementing the system today.

With a nationwide program, I think you can integrate industry into the process. As I say, well over a billion dollars is already contributed by industry each year to support the educational system. One of the problems is we have all been doing our own thing rather independent of one another with small, isolated examples. If this report can do anything, it can galvanize us into a common direction with a common message, with a common program to use our resources to help move the system along. But it's accountability and the reward for performance, I think, are the two key issues.

SEN. JOHN GLENN: Got one more here. We're going on quite a long time.

WOMAN: Hi. I have a quick question. I've seen you have roles for the superintendents and school boards and the teachers individually. Has the commission addressed the role of unions and how they might be able to facilitate alternative pay schedules for teachers in high demand, particularly math and science?

SEN. JOHN GLENN: Well, one of our commission members -- Sandra, would you want to address that? Sandra is with the American Federation of Teachers Union.

SANDRA FELDMAN: As president of the American Federation of Teachers, and in addition to holding the report in my hand, I'm holding this week's Newsweek that talks about the overall general crisis of teacher recruitment that we have this in country. And we as unions are definitely, first of all, totally on board with this report, every aspect of it. We're delighted to see that there's a sense of urgency and crisis here, and also reality that this report actually puts out very practical, doable things that can happen now to stem the crisis that we have in teaching. And we are prepared to discuss, and we are doing it in a lot of districts around the country. I mean, we do have this problem of 16,000 school districts doing things around the country and we're hoping that the report will help us get some uniformity in what happens. But we are interested in discussing alternative compensation. We are supportive of the recommendation in here that there be rewards and incentives in schools for teachers who work hard at bring up the achievement of children. It's still something that needs to be worked out. We are very much on board with this. We see this as a huge problem.

And I'd like to call your attention particularly to goal number three in this report which talks about a tremendous sea change in the professional environment that is required to make teaching more attractive not just to the people who are there now, two-thirds of whom are about to retire in the next ten years, but to be able to attract the bright and capable young people that we need to staff these classrooms, particularly in math and science; are going to have to make the kinds of changes that this terrific report recommends, particularly in goal three. Thank you.

SEN. JOHN GLENN: Thank you. I would ask -- well, to follow up on that just a little bit, the estimates are that two-thirds of the teaching force will turn over in the next ten years. That's frightening but maybe you've got to look at it also as an opportunity. If we can galvanize people into better standards and that are expecting more out of teachers, then pay isn't looked at as being anything but fully deserved. And so it looks to me like the next ten years is where we really have an opportunity. And that's another reason, in answer to your question earlier back here, that I think this report is particularly appropó right now. It's a time for action right now.

I would ask all the commission members to stick around here for a little bit, and if any of the press wants to talk to any of them or do interviews here or any of us on the platform here, why, we'd be glad to do that. And thank you all for being here this morning. Thank you. [Applause]

[End]