TIMSS Results: Impact For Our Economic Future And Individual Opportunities

The Engines of Growth in Our Economy Are Industries That Demand Mathematics And Science Skills. Two of the fastest growing job areas, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, are computer technology and health services, fields which require a strong background in mathematics and science. The high-tech explosion in our economy is evident in the fact that about half of America's fastest growing businesses are high-tech firms. The CEO's of these firms and the other fastest-growing product and service companies say that nearly one in four of their entry-level workers needs to be competent in college-level math, according to a new Coopers & Lybrand survey.

Jobs Are Changing. Thousands of applicants are being turned down for factory jobs because they lack the advanced mathematics, communications, and computer proficiencies required to support today's manufacturing. A wide range of industries now call for advanced skills in mathematics and science when traditionally this was not the case. General Motors Corporation recommends that high school students interested in skilled trade occupations -- carpenters, pipefitters, and machinists-- take a rigorous mathematics and science course sequence: algebra, geometry, and physics. Diamond-Star Motors, a joint venture of Chrysler and Mitsubishi, tests all applicants for production and maintenance positions on their ability to do high school-level mathematics. An entry-level automobile worker, according to an industry-wide standard, needs to be able to apply formulas from algebra and physics to properly wire the electrical circuits of a car.

All employees from front-line to professional to management are expected to demonstrate excellence in higher-level skills such as critical thinking, teamwork, communication, and problem-solving.

The U.S. Is Not Meeting Its Economic Needs: Businesses Already Face Worker Shortages, Limited Growth, And Costs of Remedial Training. One third of corporate economists surveyed in 1995 said their firms were encountering problems in finding a skilled workforce. [National Association of Business Economists, Industry Survey, January 1996] Half of company executives in information technology report a problem in finding skilled workers which they deem the most significant barrier to their company's growth within the next year. [U.S. Department of Education, Mathematics Equals Opportunity] One in ten positions in information technology is currently unfilled according to the Information Technology Association of America. [Second Annual IT workforce study, January 1998]

In America's fastest growing businesses, 88 percent of workers need to be retrained in computer technology and 15 percent need to be retrained in mathematics. CEO's of these businesses say that 31 percent of entry-level workers lack the necessary problem solving skills. [Coopers & Lybrand TrendSetter Barometer, 2/19/98]

Manufacturers surveyed believe that 40 percent of all 17-year-olds lack the mathematics skills to hold down a production job in manufacturing according to the National Association of Manufacturers. [Education and Training for America's Future, 1998] One in three job applicants tested by U.S. companies lacks the reading or mathematics skills required for the job as reported by the American Management Association.

Strong Mathematics and Science Skills Enhance Individual Opportunity, Leading to College Entry and Success. Students who take rigorous mathematics and science courses are much more likely to go on to college than those who do not. Data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study reveal that 83 percent of students who took algebra I and geometry, and nearly 89 percent of students who took chemistry, went on to college, compared to only 36 percent of students who did not take algebra and geometry and 43 percent of students who did not take chemistry. [U.S. Department of Education, Mathematics Equals Opportunity] Yet 31 percent of our college bound high school seniors did not take four years or more of mathematics, and 51 percent of college bound high school seniors did not take four years or more of science. Students who took four years or more of mathematics and science scored nearly 100 points higher on the SAT than those who took only one year of mathematics and science. [College Board's 1997 Profile of College-Bound Seniors]

Taking a challenging college preparatory mathematics sequence and attending and completing college is a sound strategy for securing a promising career. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) long-range forecast to the year 2005 predicts that jobs requiring the most education and training will be the fastest growing and highest paying. According to BLS, occupations requiring a bachelor's degree or higher will average 23 percent growth, almost double the 12 percent growth rate projected for occupations requiring less education and training. [Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 1997] Even for high school graduates who do not attend college, having strong mathematics skills will make a significant difference in annual salaries, according to authors Murnane and Levy in The New Basic Skills.

Examples of Mathematics at Work

Building Things

One in three American workers builds products ranging from containers to automobiles and airplanes. The design work of engineers and architects leads to the casting, cutting, fastening, and molding of carpenters, machinists, and others. Each step in the process involves feats of visual imagination, three-dimensional geometry, and measurement.

The calculations that machinists are expected to perform routinely would tax the skills of most mathematics teachers. Figure 1 shows the kind of complicated task confronting a machinist when working in three dimensions: planning how to drill holes at specified angles in a block of aluminum whose base is not square and whose sides are tilted in odd directions. To complete this task, a machinist would use a device called a "sine plate," whose surface can tilt in two different dimensions to compensate for odd angles of a part that is to be drilled.

A good command of geometry and trigonometry is essential for anyone building things in today's manufacturing industries. Both designers and builders use computer-assisted design and computer-assisted manufacturing to support high-performance manufacturing. To use these tools effectively, workers need to have mastered drawing geometric objects, calculating distances, angles, areas and volumes, and using advanced concepts of light. One of the skill standards for computer-aided drafting and design specifies that workers should be able to "describe and explain light including angle of incidence and reflection, critical angle -- fiber optics, diffraction, electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic spectrum...."

Ensuring Quality

Anyone who drove a car in the 1970's can attest to recent improvements in the auto industry: today's cars have fewer defects, need fewer repairs and last longer. Like the auto industry, other industries ranging from telecommunications to aerospace strictly monitor the manufacturing process so that the end product is free of defects.

Skilled workers are one key to the success of advanced high performance manufacturing. And these workers have a new tool at their command: statistical control manufacturing. Rather than make costly repairs to products after manufacturing, firms like General Motors, Boeing, Siemens, and Kodak now insist that at every step in the manufacturing process, materials, parts, and assembly meet strict specifications. Assembly line workers are responsible for maintaining this consistent level of quality.

To monitor quality, today's assembly line worker uses statistical process control during the manufacture process. This involves collecting data on key indicators -- the temperature of a mixture or pitch of a grinding tool -- and charting data on a graph. If the process strays outside predetermined limits for quality, the worker may decide to make adjustments or shut down the assembly line. Statistical quality control is similar but takes place after the manufacturing process is complete. Workers sample finished products, charting their performance characteristics, and identify potential problems in quality before defective items are shipped for sale. In the past, companies employed specialists for quality control, but today's assembly line workers are expected to fill this role in addition to their other responsibilities.

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