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Improving, Indicators of the Quality
of Science and Mathematics
Education in Grades K 12
Richard ]. Murnane and Senta A. Raizen, Editors
Committee on Indicators of Precollege
Science and Mathematics Education
Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
National Research Council
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C. 1988
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National Academy Press · 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. · Washington, D. C. 20418
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing
Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils
of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the
Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were
chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to
procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the
National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute
of Medicine.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society
of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the
furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon
the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has
a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical
matters. Dr. Frank Press is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter
of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers.
It ~ autonomous In its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with
the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government.
The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at
meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior
achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy
of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of
Sciences to secure the senricce of eminent membere of appropriate professions in the
examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts
under the rceponsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional
charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to
identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Samuel O. Thicr is president
of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences
in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's
purposes of furthering l~nowlcdge and advising the federal go~rernmcat. Functioning in
accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the
principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Scienece and the National
Academy of Engineering in providing ser~rices to the government, the public, and the
scientific and engineering communitice. The Council is administered jointly by both
Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M. White are
chairman and Rice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
National Research Council (U.S.~. Committee on Indicators of Precollege Science and
Mathematics Education. Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education.
Bibliography
Includes index.
1. Science-Study and teaching United States Evaluation. 2. Mathematice
Study and teaching United States- Evaluation. I. Murnane, Richard J. II. Raizen
Senta A. III. National Research Council (U.S.~. Committee on Indicators of Precollege
Science and Mathematics Education.
Q183.3.AlI48 1987 507'.1073-dcl9 87-31230
ISBN 0-309-03740-9
Printed in the United States of America
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COMMITTEE ON INDICATORS OF PRECOLLEGE
SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
RICHARD J. MURNANE (Chair), Harvard University (economics)
LLOYD BOND, University of Pittsburgh (psychometrics)
NORMAN O. FREDERIKSEN, Educational Testing Service,
Princeton, New Jersey (psychology)
ALICE B. FULTON, University of Iowa (biochemistry)
GERALD HOLTON, Harvard University (physics, history of
science)
LYLE V. JONES, University of North Carolina (psychometrics)
C. THOMAS KERINS, Illinois State Board of Education,
Springfield (education administration)
GEORGE MILLER, University of California, Irvine (chemistry)
HAROLD NISSELSON, Westat, Inc., Rockville, Maryland
(mathematical statistics)
JEROME PINE, California Institute of Technology (physics)
MARY BUDD ROWE, University of Florida (science education)
MARSHALL S. SMITH, Stanford University (education
measurement, and evaluation)
WAYNE W. WELCH, University of Minnesota (science education)
SAMUEL ]. MESSICK (ex officio), member, National Research
Council Committee on Research in Mathematics, Science, and
Technology Education; Educational Testing Service, Princeton,
New Jersey (psychometrics, cognitive science)
SENTA A. RAIZEN, Study Director
ROLF BLANK, Research Associate
· .-
111
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Preface
This is the second report of the Committee on Indicators of
Precollege Science and Mathematics Education. The committee was
established by the National Research Council to develop better in-
dicators of the condition of science and mathematics education in
the nation's schools. The impetus for the work came from a con-
vocation held by the National Academy of Sciences in spring 1982
on mathematics and science education; additional motivation came
from various reports on the condition of education that appeared
in fall 1982 and spring 1983, including those by the National Sci-
ence Foundation (NSF), the National Commission on Excellence in
Education, and the Twentieth Century Fund.
These reports found serious inadequacies in precollege educa-
tion; a number of them suggested that many U.S. students leave
high school without adequate preparation in science and mathemat-
ics, whether for the job market, for continuing their education, or
for informed citizenship. The reports identified such specific school
deficiencies as teacher shortages, inadequate curricula, and Tow stan-
dards of student performance. These reports elicited widespread
concern about the state of schooling; however, questions were also
raised about the quality of the information used to formulate many
of the conclusions and policy recommendations in the reports.
v
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V1
PREFA CE
This concern led to the creation of our committee, which is
charged with laying a foundation for the development of an adequate
monitoring system for use at the national, state, and local levels,
so that the condition of mathematics and science education can be
tracked, particularly the ejects of current efforts at improvement.
The committee's first report, issued in 1985, concentrated on
conventional indicators and current data bases. Both the committee
and reviewers suggested that the next step should be consideration
of new indicators that would provide more penetrating insights on
the condition of science and mathematics education. Hence, with
support from the National Science Foundation, the committee has
continued its work on developing an improved system of indicators,
including recommendations on more imaginative assessment mea-
sures for present use as well as on research to create new indicators.
Some of the problems identified in the first report have received
further attention, for example, defining teaching effectiveness, devel-
oping indicators of the quality of curriculum content, and improving
assessment of student performance. Some potential indicators iden-
tified but not selected for discussion in the first report have been
reexamined.
The committee conducted several activities to enlarge the per-
spectives and knowledge on indicators represented by its members.
In fall 1985, some 50 outside experts participated in a workshop
chaired by Lyle Jones aimed at developing improved approaches to
indicators (Appendix A is a list of participants). Discussions in
each of the subgroups led to the organization of the report into sec-
tions dealing with scientific and mathematical literacy; assessment of
student learning; measures of student behaviors, attitudes, and mo-
tivation; measures of teaching effectiveness; assessment of the quality
of curriculum content; and indicators of financial investment. On the
last topic, two papers were commissioned, one by Ward S. Mason on
indicators of federal investment in precollege science, mathematics,
and technology education, and one by Kern Alexander on costs of
school mathematics and science programs. Ideas suggested at the
workshop on each of the six areas were subsequently used by the
committee in formulating its report.
The committee also conducted a review of the science content in
nine selected achievement tests used by many secondary schools. The
results of the review, performed by a group of scientists and science
teachers, were used by the committee in developing its findings on
problems with achievement tests and in recommending strategies
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PREFACE
·e
V11
for improving methods of assessing learning in science. Appendix B
summarizes the procedures and results of the test assessment and
lists participants.
In spring 1986, the committee convened a meeting with repre-
sentatives from state education agencies and another meeting with
representatives of large local school districts. Each of the meetings
was attended by administrators responsible for research and evalua-
tion and by curriculum supervisors. The purpose of the meetings was
to learn of the needs, interests, and concerns of education officials
at these levels about indicators of science and mathematics educa-
tion and to have them comment on the feasibility and usefulness of
the committee's proposed approaches. The discussions with state
and local officials, summarized in Appendix C, produced insightful
comments on the committee's initial ideas as well as useful new sug-
gestions of strategies for improving indicators. A number of these
suggestions are reflected in this report.
In addition to its own activities, the committee's work has prof-
ited from several other efforts proceeding concurrently to develop
and improve indicators of the quality of American education. The
committee has kept in close contact with these efforts, which are
described in Appendix D, and has both learned from them and in-
fluenced their work.
In formulating this report, the committee brought to this wealth
of information the distinct disciplinary perspectives of its members.
While the general findings and recommendations belong to the com-
mittee as a whole, ~ am appreciative of the hard work done by
individual members in drafting the text for each chapter: by Alice
Fulton and myself for Chapter 2, by Lloyd Bond and Harold Nisselson
for Chapter 3, by Norman Frederiksen and Jerome Pine for Chapter
4, by Mary Budd Rowe and Wayne Welch for Chapter 5, by George
Miller and myself for Chapter 6, by Marshall Smith and Senta Raizen
for Chapter 7, and by C. Thomas Kerins for the sections in several
chapters dealing with implications for state education agencies. The
staff drafted Chapter 8 and Appendixes B. C, and D, and Harold
Nisselson drafted Appendix E.
The committee is grateful for the support provided by the Na-
tional Science Foundation for its work and the unfailing help and en-
couragement extended by NSF's Richard Berry. We would also like to
acknowledge the contributions to the committee's early deliberations
by John Truxal (State University of New York, Stony Brook), chair
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·. ~
V111
PREFA CE
of the committee in 1985, Thomas Lippincott (University of Wis-
consin), and Henry PolIak (Bell Communications Research, Inc.), all
three of whom were committee members who had to resign midway
through our work. Special appreciation is due to F. Joe Crosswhite
(National Council of Teachers of Mathematics), John Dossey (Illinois
State University), Henry PolIak, and Thomas Romberg (University
of Wisconsin), all of whom reviewed and commented on the text of
the report with respect to mathematics.
~ would particularly like to thank Senta Raizen, the study di-
rector of this project, for her enormous contribution. Not only did
her knowledge, wisdom, wit, and hard work contribute directly to
the report, but she also motivated all comrn~ttee members to work
much harder on this project than they initially had in mind. The
committee also appreciates the work of staff members Rolf Blank
and Barbara Darr and the careful editing of Christine McShane.
RICHARD J. MURNANE, Chair
Committee on Indicators of Precollege
Science and Mathematics Education
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Contents
1 Summary and Recommendations
2 Indicators of Science and Mathematics Education
3
4
What Are Indicators?
Indicators of Learning in Science and Mathematics
Indicators of Student Behavior
6 Indicators of Teaching Quality
7 Indicators of Curriculum
8 Indicators of Financial and I`eadership Support
References
APPENDIXES
A Colloquium on Indicators of Precollege Science and
Mathematics Education: Participants
B Review of Science Content in Selected Student
Achievement Tests
Summaries of Meetings with Representatives of
State and Local Education Agencies
D Current Projects on Indicators
E Coordination of Strategies for Collecting Data
Index
1X
1
15
27
40
73
90
119
143
152
171
175
181
197
206
209
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