Math And Science

Disappointed by declining pass rates on state algebra tests, Anne Arundel County school officials are searching for ways to energize performance on a "gateway" subject that students need to graduate - and succeed in a rapidly evolving local work force of engineers and scientists. Barely seven of out of 10 high school freshmen passed last spring's state algebra test, which includes sections on data analysis and probability. The percentage of students passing the algebra test dropped four points since 2004, even as other subjects logged impressive gains . The data reveal an Achilles' heel in a district that is increasing its effort to have students take higher level math and science.

The girls launched rockets, drove solar cars and snapped pictures with homemade pinhole cameras. They braved the afternoon heat and collected beakers full of Chesapeake Bay water to test nitrate and phosphate levels. Then they laid gray tarps over chairs and spritzed them with food coloring to simulate pollutants dribbling down a mountain into our water supply. It was definitely a hands-on week for the 40 area middle-schoolers who attended the SciGirls camp at the Maryland Science Center.

The Baltimore school board voted last night to spend nearly $3 million for new math and science textbooks for high schools, one of its largest textbook purchases for secondary schools in years.In September, high school students opened new Algebra I and English textbooks, but the purchase approved last night includes Algebra II, pre-calculus, calculus, chemistry, physics, earth/space science and environmental science textbooks.After being criticized last year for failing to consider a sufficient number of phonics-based textbooks for elementary schools, officials tried to ensure a more rigorous process this year.

To show students that doing well can bring them recognition, the Citizens Advisory Committee of Quarterfield Elementary School has asked The Sun to help publicize its Student of the Week. Winners of the honor must write about themselves.Hi, my name is Shawn Carney. I'm 11 years old and in the fifth grade. I love animals. I have a dog, six birds, three lizards, one rabbit and 13 fish. I'm trying to get a hamster, too. I have 12 people in my family: my mom, my dad, my grandmothers, my grandfather, my sister and uncles and my aunt.

An article in yesterday's Maryland section about Baltimore's Ingenuity Project for gifted children misidentified a student as Dallas Terry. He actually is Dallas Perry, a sophomore at Polytechnic Institute.The Sun regrets the error.They were the smartest pupils in their fifth-grade classes, the children who were the first to put down their pencils and the first to raise their hands. Sometimes, they were teased by classmates or felt awkward about being a "nerd."Then they entered Ingenuity Project, and their school lives changed.

To show students that doing well can bring them recognition, the Citizens Advisory Committee of Quarterfield Elementary School has asked The Sun to help publicize its Student of the Week. Winners of the honor must write about themselves.Hi, my name is Victoria Zielinski. I am in fifth grade at Quarterfield Elementary. I am 10 years old and love writing stories to kids younger than me. I have five brothers and no sisters. The subjects I do well in are math and science. In math my grades are really good and I love to do math problems.

Maryland math and science educators understand the problem; they just can't solve it.Gathered for a fall retreat in Linthicum, about 150 math teachers and supervisors, as well as principals and other administrators, took a close look at why U.S. students don't do as well as those from other countries on international tests, courtesy of Pascal D. Forgione Jr., U.S. commissioner of education statistics."

AN INTERNATIONAL comparison of school achievement in math and science struck a raw nerve last week. The study concluded that even the United States' elite high school seniors, those in advanced physics and calculus, are behind their peers in most of 14 other nations.Previous reports from the respected Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) had given U.S. partisans reason to believe that our kids are holding their own. Even the 1997 results found U.S. fourth-graders slightly above the international average in five of the six topics measured.

Cyprus and South Africa. Remember those two countries. Cyprus and South Africa.You've heard the news by now. Recently the Third International Mathematics and Science Study released the results of a general math and science test taken three years ago. American students, seniors in elite high schools who had taken advanced courses in physics and calculus, took the test along with students from 20 other countries.To put it kindly, our guys and gals got creamed. Students from every other country taking the test did better than our students, except for two countries.

WASHINGTON -- Every so often Americans wallow in an orgy of professed concern that "Johnny can't read" or write or do math, or something.The current wail is over a 40-country study that shows U.S. high school seniors ranking last in physics and next to last in math -- behind such countries as Lithuania, Cyprus and South Africa.I want to say up front that this is a grossly misleading survey if it leads anyone to think that the economic and scientific futures of the United States are imperiled because our high schools are turning out nitwits who can't multiply or divide, and don't know an ohm from an oscillator.

All Maryland high school graduates would be prepared for college-level math and science courses, and the state's universities would triple their production of teachers in those fields, under a five-year, $72 million plan unveiled Thursday by a state task force appointed by Gov. Martin O'Malley. The plan also calls for a 40 percent increase in the number of science, technology, engineering and math graduates produced by state universities and for a sweeping effort to convert research and development into job-producing industry.

If only university systems could clone Christine Sweigart by the tens of thousands. The Silver Spring native is the rare American who loves math enough to make it her college major. She has also wanted to be a teacher since the sixth grade, when she got a mini-chalkboard as a symbol of her career ambitions. "Teachers have such an influence on whether students leave loving a subject or loathing it," said Sweigart, a rising junior at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. "Working with kids, seeing that light bulb come on, those are the rewards I want in a career."

Every year, Maryland public schools need to hire 500 math, science and technology teachers. But the state's colleges and universities produce only about 175 qualified applicants, which often leads to unqualified teachers staffing math and science classes, particularly in the poorest schools. William E. Kirwan, chancellor of the University System of Maryland, says the system has a "moral responsibility" to help close the gap. Kirwan called a symposium in College Park on Wednesday that brought together leading figures in education - including U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan - to generate ideas.

Maryland's perennial teacher shortage may be easing for the first time in several years, a result of increased emphasis on producing better-trained teachers from the state's colleges and universities and a steady enrollment trend, according to state officials. And state educators predict the trend will continue because of a worsening economy. "Guess what one of the recession-proof professions is?" said Donna L. Wiseman, dean of the College of Education at the University of Maryland, College Park.

The U.S. government does not have the authority to dictate what a student studies. Any federal education law that dictates curricula, no matter what its intent, will have the double dishonor of being unconstitutional and a failure. Problems with math and science education are neither a lack of availability nor a lack of requirement; local school districts require more math and science education in earlier grades than ever before. Teryn Norris and Jesse Jenkins of Breakthrough Generation wrote on this page recently that a federal National Energy Education Act is needed to promote education in math and science to modernize our energy infrastructure.

Mallory Vogel is a three-year varsity player and one of three captains on the C. Milton Wright girls lacrosse team. She also has played varsity soccer and basketball for three yearsBut sports is not the only thing in her life. She loves math and science and plans on studying biomedical engineering -- which can involve work such as designing limbs and tissues and ligaments -- in college, probably at Catholic or RPI, while playing basketball and lacrosse. Vogel has a 4.1 grade point average, is a member of the National Honor Society and tutors students in algebra and geometry.

Disappointed by declining pass rates on state algebra tests, Anne Arundel County school officials are searching for ways to energize performance on a "gateway" subject that students need to graduate - and succeed in a rapidly evolving local work force of engineers and scientists. Barely seven of out of 10 high school freshmen passed last spring's state algebra test, which includes sections on data analysis and probability. The percentage of students passing the algebra test dropped four points since 2004, even as other subjects logged impressive gains . The data reveal an Achilles' heel in a district that is increasing its effort to have students take higher level math and science.

The girls launched rockets, drove solar cars and snapped pictures with homemade pinhole cameras. They braved the afternoon heat and collected beakers full of Chesapeake Bay water to test nitrate and phosphate levels. Then they laid gray tarps over chairs and spritzed them with food coloring to simulate pollutants dribbling down a mountain into our water supply. It was definitely a hands-on week for the 40 area middle-schoolers who attended the SciGirls camp at the Maryland Science Center.

Three-year-old Emily Harris was happily entertaining herself playing a "Barbie" computer game. A lefty, she deftly maneuvered the mouse on the family's computer with her right hand, exploring the site with expertise while her mother, a doctoral candidate at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, was being interviewed. There's no doubt Barbie quickly met her match in Emily. After a few minutes, Emily called out to her mother for help in navigating to a new site. "Excuse me," said Kristi Harris, 34. "This will just take a minute."

Schools observe education week The Harford County public school system will observe American Education Week this week to promote an increased awareness of public schools. This year's theme is "Great Public Schools: A Basic Right and Our Responsibility." Parents, grandparents and guardians are invited to visit their child's public school. Tomorrow has been designated "Grandparents/Senior Citizens Day." Grandparents and senior citizens are welcome to visit schools tomorrow. Elementary school visitations are open from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.; fourth-tier schools are open from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. during scheduled days.