The K-12 establishment is pulling America's industrial leadership at risk; We need the K-12 teaching community to "take responsibility for the poor results they are achieving ... increase the number of instructors qualified to teach math and science ... and stop promoting unprepared students to the next grade level.".

• Author: Robert J. Herbold
• Position: REEL WORLD

THERE ARE SOME very worrisome trends in the U.S. with respect to our global share of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics expertise. Simply put, it is decreasing significantly, both at the bachelor's and Ph.D. levels. The National Science Foundation has published data demonstrating that our country is producing far fewer engineers than are other parts of the world, particularly Asia. Among 24-year-olds in 2001 who had a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degree, only five percent in the U.S. were engineers, compared to 39% in China and 19% or more in South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. China is producing three times more engineers than the U.S. America even compares poorly to European countries in terms of the percentage of bachelor's degrees awarded in the fields of engineering and science.

Another disturbing trend is in the numbers of individuals receiving a Ph.D. in physical science and engineering. In 1987, 4,700 U.S. citizens earned these degrees, compared to 5,600 Asians. In 2001, the U.S. figure had dropped to 4,400 and the number of Asians had risen to 24,900. That is a dramatic shift. We also should note that the percentage of Asians getting science and engineering Ph.D.s at U.S. universities is declining. Indeed, 25% fewer Asians received such degrees at U.S. universities in 2001 than in 1996.

This data was assembled by professor R.E. Smalley, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist from Rice University. His disturbing conclusion: "By 2010, 90% of all Ph.D. physical scientists and engineers in the world will be Asian living in Asia."

Why are these figures important? Traditionally, it has been the U.S.'s technical human talent that has driven our industrial success. Basic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics knowledge is vitally important in the business world. For perspective, more than 50% of the CEOs of our Fortune 100 companies come from a technical background. In addition, physical science and engineering capabilities at the PhD. level typically drive the kind of highly prized innovations that lead to the emergence of new industries. With expertise in these fields declining in the U.S. while rising in other parts of the world, we risk seeing our industrial leadership weaken.

One of the main reasons why U.S. production of science and engineering talent in universities is low in comparison to other nations is that America's K-12 math and science skill levels are quite weak. Data from the National Assessment of...