Accelerating Innovation

America Competes Act (H.R. 2272) Signed by President Bush

LINK: President Bush Press Conference Discusses Competes Act

President George W. Bush signs H.R. 2272, The America Competes Act, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2007, in the Oval Office. Pictured with the President are, from left: Director John Marburger of the Office of Science and Technology Policy; Senator Jeff Bingaman of N.M.; Congressman Bart Gordon of Tenn.; and Senator Pete Domenici of N.M. White House photo by Chris Greenberg

President Bush to Sign Innovation Legislation

The innovation grapevine reports that on Thursday, August 9, 2007, the President will sign into law H.R. 2272, the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education and Science Act (COMPETES) in a small ceremony with Congressional Members. The bill passed both the House and Senate by overwhelming margins last Thursday. The next chapter begins.

Innovation Metric: About Four Out of 10 U.S. 12th Graders Are Proficient in Economics

Economic literacy is important for individuals to function effectively as citizens in an increasingly connected world economy. The first ever National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) U.S. economics assessment was released today at a National Press Club briefing presenting results for a representative sample of students at grade 12. The results are reported in terms of students’ average economics score on a 0–300 scale, and in terms of the percentage of students attaining each of three achievement levels: Basic, Proficient, and Advanced. Seventy-nine percent of students performed at the Basic level or higher, and 42 percent performed at the Proficient level or higher, including 3 percent at the Advanced level. Results are based on a nationally representative sample of 11,500 twelfth-grade students from 590 public and nonpublic high schools.

Some Key Findings Include:

• The average economics score of male students was higher than the average score of female students.
• White and Asian/Pacific Islander students scored higher, on average, than other racial/ethnic groups.
• Students from large city schools had lower average scores than students in other locations.
• Students whose parents had higher levels of education exhibited higher performance in economics.
• Most students study some economics in high school.

Students answered questions representing a wide range of content from three areas: market, national, and international economics. Some examples from the report are:

Market Economy

• 72% described a benefit and a risk of leaving a full-time job to further one’s education
• 52% identified how commercial banks use money deposited into customers’ checking accounts
• 46% interpreted a supply and demand graph to determine the effect of establishing a price control
• 36% used marginal analysis to determine how a business could maximize its profits

National Economy

• 60% identified factors that lead to an increase in the national debt
• 36% identified the federal government’s primary source of revenue
• 33% explained the effect of an increase in real interest rates on consumers’ borrowing
• 11% analyzed how a change in the unemployment rate affects income, spending, and production

International Economy

• 63% determined the impact of a decrease in oil production on oil-importing countries
• 51% determined a result of removing trade barriers between two countries
• 40% determined why industries can successfully lobby for tariff protection
• 32% identified how investment in education can impact economic growth

Darvin M. Winick, chair of the National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees policy for the NAEP tests said:  "Given the number of students who finish high school with a limited vocabulary, not reading well, and weak in math, the results may be as good as or better than we should expect. "

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· Browse the Executive Summary of the report.

· Download, view and print the complete report as a pdf file.

Washington, DC 20006

Legislation boosting innovation goes to the President

The House and Senate agreed to the conference report on H.R. 2272, the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education and Science Act (COMPETES.) The 470 page bill represents a conference committee agreement melding House (H.R. 2272) and Senate bills (S. 761). The House voted 367 to 57 to approve the bill, while the Senate approved it with a voice vote. Now it is up to the President to sign if it is to become law.

The America COMPETES Act is based upon the recommendations of the 2005 National Academies’ report, “Rising Above the Gathering Storm.” and the Council on Competitiveness Report, www.innovateamerica.org. The COMPETES Act:

• Authorizes a total of $33.6 billion dollars over fiscal years 2008-2010 for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education programs across the federal government;
• Authorizes multiple grant programs at various federal agencies to help educate current and future teachers in the areas of science and math education;
• Creates the Technology Innovation Program (TIP) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST);
• Establishes the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), designed to engage in high-risk, high reward energy research under the Department of Energy;
• And keeps budgets for research programs at the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science on a path to doubling within the near term.

The conference report has been endorsed by a wide variety of academic, research and business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Business Roundtable and the Information Technology Industry Council. Click here to read the text of the conference agreement, amendments and a section-by-section summary of the bill. Egils Milbergs, president, Center for Accelerating Innovation, stated: "The legislative success of the COMPETES Act is a model for shaping  innovation policy for the 21st century. The fact this legislation got to the President's desk demonstrates that a non-ideological approach to a vital national issue can work."

American Innovation Video Contest

The YouTube Innovation Video Contest is ready to be promoted to your companies, associations, universities, colleagues, students, friends, family members, etc. We want to make sure that we get as many people as possible to submit a short (3 minute or less) video that, in a funny or clever way, shows how science has changed our lives. The top prize is $1,000 and a trip to Washington, D.C. !

Please send this link  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuGBNNCwkfs   to those who would be interested.

American Innovation Video Contest

The Task Force on the Future of American Innovation, comprised of organizations from industry and academia, advocates increased federal support for research in the physical sciences and engineering. Formed in 2004, the Task Force urges strong, sustained increases for research budges at the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy Office of Science, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and Department of Defense.

Website: http://futureofinnovation.org

Technology in the classroom key to successful workforce according to new survey

It comes as no surprise that fundamental changes are required in the U.S. educational system if we are to be globally competitive. Has it been 25 years since "Nation at Risk" ? For one perspective on this persistent and on-going challenge, Cisco released a survey titled "Education Attitudes 2007," conducted by Zogby International. 

· majority of Americans said that technology is an important factor in connecting schools to their communities as well as in leveling the playing field among more and less affluent schools by providing equal access to educational content.

· 59 percent of Americans agree that "information technology is a vital tool that can help educate our students by providing access to video and other dynamic content" and that more should be done to incorporate information technology into the learning process.

· 69 percent of Americans believe that science and math courses should be made mandatory for grades 7 through 12.

· 54 percent of Americans said that schools should place a greater emphasis on teaching a global perspective.

Despite the growing need for problem-solving skills in an innovation society, Americans are not prepared to base student grades on collaboration skills by shifting coursework away from individual achievement. Only 32 percent of those surveyed said they support a grading system that is in favor of teaching students how to work more effectively in groups, this includes basing 25 percent of a student's grade on group work. Instead, 58 percent said educators should continue to promote and focus efforts on individual performance.

The 2007 Zogby surveyed more than 7,000 general consumer Americans across the country over the age of 18 from May 11 through May 14. To learn more go to these links:

Video of panel discussion
http://www.463.com/Clients/Cisco/

Cisco Education
http://www.cisco.com/web/strategy/education/index.html

Consortium for School Networking
http://www.cosn.org

International Society for Technology in Education
http://www.iste.org

America COMPETES Act Moves to Final House and Senate Vote

The House-Senate conference on the America COMPETES Act is complete. Now the final hurdle is House and Senate passage and Presidential signature.  Details about the legislation can be found here through the House Science Committee. It is time to voice your support to pass this massive bi-partisan two year private sector effort to boost federal investment in basic research and human capital.

Overview of the Conference Report on H.R. 2272, the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act (COMPETES)

July 31, 2007 – Prepared by House Science and Technology Committee Staff

Earlier this year, both the U.S. House and Senate passed comprehensive legislation (H.R. 2272, S. 761) to ensure our nation’s competitive position in the world through improvements to math and science education and a strong commitment to research. The Conference Agreement follows through on a commitment to ensure U.S. students, teachers, businesses and workers are prepared to continue leading the world in innovation, research and technology – well into the future.

In summary, the Conference Agreement:

• Keeps research programs at National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science on a near-term doubling path;

• Authorizes a total of $43.3 billion over fiscal years 2008 – 2010 for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) research and education programs across the federal government.

• Helps to prepare thousands of new teachers and provide current teachers with content and teaching skills in their area of education through NSF’s Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program and Math and Science Partnerships Program;

• Creates the Technology Innovation Program (TIP) at NIST (replacing the existing Advanced Technology Program or ATP) to fund high-risk, high-reward, pre-competitive technology development with high potential for public benefit;

• Establishes an Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E), a nimble and semiautonomous research agency at the Department of Energy to engage in high-risk, high reward energy research.

• Expands programs at NSF to enhance the undergraduate education of the future science and engineering workforce, including at 2-year colleges; • Includes provisions throughout the bill to help broaden participation in science and engineering fields at all levels;

• Authorizes two new competitive grant programs that will enable partnerships to implement courses of study in mathematics, science, engineering, technology or critical foreign languages in ways that lead to a baccalaureate degree with concurrent teacher certification;

• Authorizes competitive grants to increase the number of teachers serving high-need schools and expand access to AP and IB classes and to increase the number of qualified AP and IB teachers in high-need schools;

• Expands early career grant programs and provides additional support for outstanding young investigators at both NSF and DOE; and

• Strengthens interagency planning and coordination for research infrastructure and information technology (i.e. high-speed computing).