Council In the News Index

Mass. Losing Ground in Math (Boston Globe)
State falls behind many countries in advanced skills

By James Vaznis
Globe Staff / November 10, 2010

Massachusetts graduated the largest percentage of students in the nation with advanced math skills last year, but trailed more than a dozen countries in Europe and Asia, a worrisome finding that could signal problems for the state’s economic future, according to a study being released today.

Just 11 percent of Massachusetts 12th-graders graduated with advanced math skills in 2009, less than half the rate of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea, according to the study sponsored by the journal Education Next and Harvard University’s Program on Education Policy and Governance.

One of the major problems in Massachusetts is a lack of opportunities for academically talented students to broaden their skills and knowledge of the subject, said one of the report’s authors, Paul Peterson, director of the Education Policy and Governance Program.

“Massachusetts really has a very talented population and has had for many years — students are doing better in Massachusetts than ever before — but the report outlines how far Massachusetts has to go,’’ Peterson said.

“Our highest-performing students are not challenged nearly [as much] as students in other countries,’’ he said.

Paul Reville, the state’s education secretary, said the report is a call to action and that it comes as Governor Deval Patrick is rolling out a major initiative to improve math and science programs in schools across the state.

“Success in this area is vital to the state’s economic future,’’ said Reville, pointing out that Massachusetts wants to be the top place for high-tech, health care, and other science-related businesses to locate.

In developing the national and world standings, the study analyzed test scores for two highly regarded exams, the National Assessment of Educational Progress and the Program for International Student Assessment.

Overall, the United States ranked 31st among 56 countries, with only 6 percent of students possessing advanced skills in math.

By contrast, 28 percent of Taiwanese students did.

Canada also ranked considerably higher than the United States.

To boost performance, said Peterson, Massachusetts and the country need to more aggressively recruit highly qualified math teachers, possibly by offering them a higher salary.

He also said that expanding online courses taught by outstanding math instructors could help.

Massachusetts has previously scored better on the world stage. On the most recent Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, one of the most highly regarded international benchmarks, Massachusetts scored on par with Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore in many instances.

However, Peterson said many European countries did not participate in the study, but did take part in the international test he used for his study.

Peterson worked on the study with Eric A. Hanushek, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University, and Ludger Woessmann, professor of economics at the University of Munich.

The findings could further encourage a recent effort to bring more college-level math courses to high schools, said Christopher Anderson, president of the Massachusetts High Technology Council.

“Our standards ought to be higher than what we are shooting for,’’ Anderson said.

Even if Massachusetts increases the percentage of students graduating with advanced math skills, that may not necessarily result in a larger workforce for the math and science fields, Reville said.

He pointed out that the proportion of Massachusetts students expressing interest in those fields is lower than national averages, even though the state’s students have the highest Scholastic Assessment Test math scores.

The state wants to boost the interest of Massachusetts students above the national average by providing them with more opportunities to do more hands-on activities in classes.

“We haven’t inspired them to pursue jobs in those fields,’’ Reville said.

“The hope is to get students to think like scientists and not just memorize facts.’’

James Vaznis can be reached at jvaznis@globe.com.