Science Race

Global Competitiveness and Competition in Danger

Science and engineering in the United States are in dangerous decline—and the country needs a concentrated effort to reverse the trend.

"America today faces a serious and intensifying challenge with regard to its future competitiveness and standard of living," said Norman Augustine, a retired Lockheed Martin chairman. "Further, we appear to be on a losing path."
The performance of U.S. students in middle and high schools on international math and science exams is below the average of 38 other countries.
Even advanced American math and physics students score near dead last among students in twenty tested countries.
Since 1990 the number of bachelor's degrees in engineering has declined eight percent; in mathematics, 20 percent.
While thirty-two percent of U.S. students graduate with degrees in science and engineering, the figure in China is fifty-nine percent.
Fewer graduates means less research.
The Asian-Pacific share of published scientific papers has increased in the last few years and will likely outstrip that of the United States in six or seven years.
Declines by the U.S. may be reflected in the business of science; the National Academies reported the U.S. share of global high-tech exports fell during the last two decades from 30 to 17 percent, and its share of manufactured goods dropped from +33 billion dollars in 1990 to –24 billion dollars in 2004.
It has been suggested that there should be a greater offering of scholarships to draw top students into math, science, engineering, and technology.

—From "U.S. Losing the Science Race", Discover Magazine, January, 2006.