Cord Byrd: “over the past decade, I have been continually puzzled by our Nation's failure to produce better students despite public…”

“over the past decade, I have been continually puzzled by our Nation's failure to produce better students despite public concern and despite the billions of Federal dollars which annually are appropriated for various programs intended to aid and improve education. Not long ago, I asked a high ranking administration official during an Appropriations Committee hearing why, in his opinion, we were not doing a better job of educating our Nation's youth in light of the billions of dollars we have been spending over these past several years. The answer I got was not very illuminating. Mr. President, our children still rank behind those of many other nations of the world with which we will have to compete for the jobs of the future. Particularly in mathematics, where our kids will have to be especially skilled, the United States ranks 28th in average mathematics performance according to a study of 8th graders published in 1996. Japan ranked third. A closer look at the current approach to mathematics in our schools reveals something called the ``new-new math.'' Apparently the concept behind this new-new approach to mathematics is to get kids to enjoy mathematics and hope that that ``enjoyment'' will lead to a better understanding of basic math concepts. Nice thought, but nice thoughts do not always get the job done.”