SHPE - Conference 2007 - (Page 16)

T H E G AT H E R I N G S T O R M A Federal Case For Education Reform By Adam Chavarria, Executive Director, White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, U.S. Department of Education I n many ways, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) represents the culmination of our government’s efforts at the elementary and secondary school levels to ensure that the United States grad- uates more Hispanic students with the academic preparation they need to enroll in college and persist in their chosen field of study, ultimately graduating with a degree in STEM—science, technology, engineering or mathematics. As a result, these talented and capable students will be able to access a range of technical career opportunities and form a pool of human resources from which employers nationwide can draw. Our confidence regarding this fact is due in large part to the education reform that has been taking place in the last few years. Recent reports on the status of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the American Competitiveness Initiative demonstrate that these reforms are having an impact in the Hispanic community, and SHPE plays an important role in their continued success. The White House Initiative and No Child Left Behind In late 2001, President George W. Bush signed Executive Order 13230 establishing the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. In the same executive order, the president designated the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans (White House Initiative) as the office that would provide staff support and assistance to the commission in its charge to examine the underlying causes of the existing education achievement gap between Hispanic American students and their peers. The commission’s work resulted in two reports, the second and final of which was submitted to the president in March 2003. Titled “From Risk to Opportunity: Fulfilling the Educational Needs of Hispanic Americans in the 21st Century,” the report contained six recommendations for increasing the educational attainment of Hispanic Americans. Chief among these was the full implementation and rigorous enforcement 16 of NCLB, which was passed by a strong bipartisan Congressional majority in 2002. NCLB represents the most significant education reform in more than 30 years and a great opportunity to finally transform the state of Hispanic education in America. January 2007 marked the five-year anniversary of NCLB’s enactment, and, it is currently up for reauthorization by Congress. Strong evidence that NCLB is working was presented in a July 2005 report by the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP). The results of the long-term assessment showed that: • Reading and math scores for Hispanic nine-year-olds had reached an all-time high. • Math scores for Hispanic 13-year-olds had reached an all-time high. • The achievement gaps in reading and math between white and Hispanic nine-year-olds are at an all-time low. In October 2005, the Nation’s Report Card showed that the achievement gap between white and Hispanic fourthgraders narrowed, reaching an all-time low in reading and math. The news of this progress has important implications for increasing the pool of Hispanic talent from which future scientists, mathematicians and engineers will be drawn. However, much more work remains to be done, particularly at the high school level and in the core subject areas of math and science. Our nation needs more mathematicians, scientists and engineers to compete effectively in a global economy. In his report, “Rising Above the Gathering Storm,” Norm Augustine, head of the National Academies Gathering Storm Committee and former chairman of Lockheed Martin, told Congress: “Americans find themselves in competition for their jobs not just with their neighbors, but with individuals around the world.” The Gathering Storm Committee’s number one recommendation for improving the current situation is to strengthen K–12 education, especially math and science instruction. According to a 2002 report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, only 6 percent of American students received graduate degrees in the field of engineering. That same year, Turkey, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Austria conferred graduate engineering degrees on at least twice that percentage. Moreover, Japan and the Republic of Korea also conferred graduatelevel engineering degrees on 39 percent and 34 percent of their students, respectively. It is evident that the U.S. is lagging behind. Not surprisingly, the number of Hispanic students in the U.S. earning master’s and doctoral degrees in the STEM fields is especially low. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, in academic year 2001-2002, Hispanic students made up only 2 percent of all students receiving master’s degrees and only 1 percent of students receiving doctorate degrees in engineering. In mathematics, Hispanic students comprised only 1 percent of all students receiving masSHPE R Conference 2007

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of SHPE - Conference 2007

SHPE - Conference 2007 Contents President’s Letter From the Vice President Calendar Browser The Top 10 Interview Questions A Federal Case for Education Reform Managing in the Multi-Generational Work Force Ahead of Their Times: An Engineering Progression The Place to Innovate Management Growth Training Executive LeaderSHPE Institute Programs & Services Welcome Letters Highlights Conference Schedule STAR Awards Company of the Year Professional Adelante and Student Chapter Awards Speakers Professional Development Strategy SHPE Academic Olympiad AHETEMS Design Competition Morgan Stanley Web Coding Competition The Ultimate SHPE Challenge Technical Paper Competition Pre-College Symposia Graduate Program Tours Hospitality Suites Advisors Workshop Quick Guide Workshop Descriptions Sponsors and Career Fair Exhibitors Hotel and Convention Center Maps IPC Update Regional Roundup Advertisers Index Inner Circle Employer Profiles

SHPE - Conference 2007

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