[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3790 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3790
To create a set of effective voluntary national expectations, and a
voluntary national curriculum, for mathematics and science education in
kindergarten through grade 12, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 3, 2006
Mrs. Clinton introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To create a set of effective voluntary national expectations, and a
voluntary national curriculum, for mathematics and science education in
kindergarten through grade 12, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Mathematics and Science
Consistency Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The United States has fallen behind other
industrialized countries in terms of competing in a global
economy. This deterioration is due in large part to the
diminishing number of well-trained people in the fields of
mathematics, science, and technology, as well as the decrease
in scientific innovations generated from the United States in
recent years.
(2) Not only did the United States produce fewer graduates
in mathematics, science, and engineering in 2002 than it did in
1985, but the United States is also generating far fewer
college graduates in those fields than other countries. In
China, 59 percent of undergraduates receive degrees in science
and engineering and in Japan, 66 percent receive such degrees,
but in the United States, only 32 percent of undergraduates
receive degrees in science and engineering.
(3) United States students are scoring far behind students
in other countries on international mathematics and science
assessments. A recent Trends in International Mathematics and
Science Study (TIMSS), the largest and most comprehensive
comparative international study of education, found that 12th
graders in the United States ranked 21st out of 40
industrialized countries on general knowledge in mathematics
and science. Furthermore, the Programme for International
Student Assessment (PISA), an organization that compiles
reports on the reading and mathematics skills of 15-year-olds,
found that the United States ranked 28th out of 40 nations
surveyed in mathematics literacy.
(4) In the United States, each State has its own set of
standards and curriculum for mathematics and science education
in kindergarten through grade 12, with its own definition of
proficiency for these standards. When each State's definition
of proficiency is compared to a national model, less than 40
percent of the students in grade 4, and only 17 percent of the
students in grade 12, reach the national proficiency level in
mathematics. In addition, approximately \1/3\ of the students
in grades 4 and 8, and nearly \1/2\ of the students in grade
12, do not reach the basic level in science, according to the
recent National Assessment of Educational Progress.
(5) In its report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm:
Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic
Future, the National Academy of Sciences recommends that the
Department of Education collect ``effective K-12 materials that
would be available free of charge as a voluntary national
curriculum that would provide an effective standard for K-12
teachers''. The National Academy of Sciences advocates for the
creation of world-class national benchmarks and a national
curriculum in order to ensure students are receiving the skills
needed to successfully compete in a global economy.
SEC. 3. DEVELOP VOLUNTARY NATIONAL EXPECTATIONS AND A VOLUNTARY
NATIONAL CURRICULUM FOR MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE EDUCATION
IN KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE 12.
(a) Panel.--The Secretary of Education shall convene a panel to
produce voluntary national expectations for mathematics and science
education, accompanied by a sample curriculum for mathematics and
science and assessment items for each expectation, for kindergarten
through grade 12.
(b) Members of Panel.--The panel described in subsection (a) shall
be composed of--
(1) professionals from the National Academy of Sciences;
(2) psychometricians;
(3) State-level education officials;
(4) National Board certified teachers;
(5) recipients of Presidential Awards for Excellence in
Mathematics and Science Teaching under section 117(a) of the
National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 1988 (42
U.S.C. 1881b(a));
(6) representatives of the National Science Foundation;
(7) representatives of the National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics;
(8) representatives of the National Science Teachers
Association; and
(9) members of any other entities that the Secretary of
Education determines necessary.
(c) Duties of Panel.--The panel described in subsection (a) shall--
(1) identify the core ideas in mathematics and science
common to all States;
(2) develop a minimum comprehensive set of voluntary
national expectations for mathematics and science, based on the
core ideas in mathematics and science common to all States,
that are taken, or adapted, from--
(A) the effective State mathematics and science
standards, as of the date of enactment of this Act; or
(B) the most recent National Science Education
Standards developed by the National Science Teacher
Association and the most recent Principles and
Standards for School Mathematics developed by the
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics;
(3) develop a model curriculum for mathematics and science
based on the voluntary national expectations, that is taken or
adapted from effective State mathematics and science teaching
materials to serve as a voluntary national curriculum;
(4) develop sample assessment questions based on each
national mathematics and science expectation for teachers to
use throughout the school year to guide instruction; and
(5) develop and coordinate professional development
criteria that would prepare teachers to incorporate the
voluntary national expectations.
(d) Personnel Matters.--
(1) Compensation of members.--Each member of the panel who
is not an officer or employee of the Federal Government shall
be compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the
annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the
Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States
Code, for each day (including travel time) during which such
member is engaged in the performance of the duties of the
panel. All members of the panel who are officers or employees
of the United States shall serve without compensation in
addition to that received for their services as officers or
employees of the United States.
(2) Travel expenses.--The members of the panel shall be
allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of
subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies
under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States
Code, while away from their homes or regular places of business
in the performance of services for the panel.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary
for each of the fiscal years 2007 and 2008.
SEC. 4. GRANTS TO STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.
(a) In General.--From amounts appropriated under subsection (e) for
a fiscal year, the Secretary of Education shall award grants, on a
competitive basis, to eligible State educational agencies to enable the
eligible State educational agencies to carry out all of the following:
(1) Contract with entities that publish educational
materials, in order to develop instructional materials based on
the voluntary national curriculum for mathematics and science
developed under section 3(c)(3), in order to effectively teach
the voluntary national expectations developed under such
section.
(2) Ensure that the eligible State educational agency has
the infrastructure and technical assistance necessary to
provide all instructional materials developed under paragraph
(1) online and free of charge to teachers and school faculty
and staff.
(3) Train mathematics and science teachers in kindergarten
through grade 12--
(A) to effectively use instructional materials to
teach the voluntary national expectations for
mathematics and science produced under section 3(c)(2);
and
(B) to use the assessment questions developed under
section 3(c)(4) to steer instruction.
(b) Application.--An eligible State educational agency desiring a
grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary
of Education at such time, in such manner, and containing such
information as the Secretary may require. The application shall include
a description of the activities that will be carried out through a
grant under this section.
(c) Report.--Not later than 60 days after the last day of the grant
period, an eligible State educational agency receiving a grant under
this section shall prepare and submit a report to the Secretary of
Education describing the results of the grant.
(d) Definition of Eligible State Educational Agency.--In this
section, the term ``eligible State educational agency'' means a State
educational agency that agrees to adopt and implement the voluntary
national expectations and the voluntary national curriculum for
mathematics and science education in kindergarten through grade 12 that
are developed under section 3.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section a total of $100,000,000 for the
fiscal years 2007 through 2011.
SEC. 5. REPORT.
Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and
annually thereafter, the Secretary of Education shall--
(1) study the effects of the voluntary national
expectations and the voluntary national curriculum of
mathematics and science on student achievement developed under
section 3 on the National Assessment of Educational Progress,
the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, and
the Programme for International Student Assessment, for the
most recent year available, as compared to the effects of State
standards and curricula on student achievement on such
assessments; and
(2) shall prepare and submit a report to Congress on the
Secretary's findings.
<all>