Sen. Blackburn’s Math Act Heads to Senate Floor
Senator Marsha Blackburn (Photo by Blackburn)
A key U.S. Senate committee has advanced legislation sponsored by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-TN, to address the country’s deficiency in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professionals.
The United States is expected to need an additional million STEM professionals in the coming decade. Blackburn co-sponsored the Mathematical and Statistical Modeling Education Act last year with Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-NH, to allocate $10 million annually through 2030 to address the issue.
Late last month, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) advanced Blackburn’s bill to the Senate floor on a 22-1 vote.
“STEM education drives America’s competitiveness in the 21st century, preparing students for careers in research, defense, and technology,” said Blackburn in a statement after filing the legislation. “We must provide a curriculum focused on mathematical and statistical problem-solving, and the Mathematical and Statistical Modeling Education Act would support this by empowering schools to modernize STEM education with a focus on real-world applications.”
Competitive STEM Awards
The bill would create a competitive award program for institutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations to develop “innovative approaches” to address STEM workforce needs with statistical modeling, data science, operations research, and computational thinking. Applicants would be encouraged to form partnerships with school districts to address critical transitions, including middle school to high school, high school to college, and school-to-internships-and-jobs.
Under the bill, funding would support programs with a variety of goals, including:
Providing preK-12 grade educators with professional learning opportunities in math modeling and statistical problem solving.
Researching practices that empower students to choose mathematical, statistical, computational, and technological tools in problem solving.
Providing students with data analysis opportunities.
Taking school or district-wide approaches to math and statistical modeling professional development.
Engaging rural agencies.
Researching effective math and statistical modeling teaching practices.
Adapting math and statistics teaching practices to local business and industry assets.
Providing hands-on training and research opportunities to math educators at federal laboratories, institutions of higher education, or industry.
“Senators Hassan and Blackburn’s Mathematical and Statistical Modeling Education Act modernizes how math is taught to better prepare students,” said HELP Committee Chairman Dr. Bill Cassidy, R-LA. “Clearly, current methods are not working. At the beginning of the year, I launched an inquiry into 35 selective colleges to better understand the prevalence and root causes of declines in math preparedness for college level math classes. Current K-12 mathematics instruction is not keeping pace with the evolving needs of employers, especially in data-driven industries. This mismatch contributes to a growing STEM talent gap and forces employers to spend time and resources on retraining workers or hire talent overseas.”
Support from Education Advocates
Blackburn’s legislation is additionally receiving support from the education organization Tennessee SCORE.
President and CEO David Mansouri sent a statement to the Tennessee Firefly that stressed the need for proactive efforts to align math curriculum with jobs.
“High-quality math instruction is critical for students' long-term success. Research shows that early numeracy predicts achievement in high school and college and is linked to higher earnings by age 30," said Mansouri. "This bill takes important steps toward better aligning math education—from early learning through higher education—with the needs of today’s students and today's workforce. Across fields ranging from advanced manufacturing and healthcare to IT and finance, employers need workers who have confidence with numbers, problem-solving, and technology."
Blackburn is currently running for governor in Tennessee. She will face Congressman John Rose, R-TN, and State Representative Monty Fritts, R-Kingston, in the Republican primary next August.
