America's slipping to second tier in science

By Cynthia Tucker

May 16, 2005

ATLANTA - We Americans have become quite comfortable with our relatively recent designation as the world's only superpower. That's a mistake, since we won't hold the top spot long.

In a generation or so, the Chinese will probably be ranked as a superpower, too. Indeed, if the United States doesn't get a grip on science and math education, the Chinese will be standing alone astride the globe, while we have fallen to a second-tier standing.

It's easy enough to see how that could happen. Chinese officials (and parents) take science and math seriously. High school and college students work hard to master chemistry, physics, biology, engineering. For that matter, so do Indian students. American students, with precious few exceptions, don't.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that China is graduating four times as many engineers as the United States. Yes, China has a far larger population, but the United States supposedly has a far superior educational system.