Study Finds Sharp Math, Science ,Skills Help Expand Economy

Study Finds Sharp Math, Science ,Skills Help Expand Economy
SOURCE:  Wall Street Journal
By SARA MURRAY
March 3, 2008; Page A2
The U.S. "has had this very naive assumption that if you just pour more inputs into education then you'll get more output," said William Easterly, an economics professor at New York University who wasn't involved in the study. But he said it could be a leap to conclude that cognitive skills could yield a specific level of economic growth.

Because so many macroeconomic factors affect GDP, it is difficult to determine the precise impact of any one of them, he said. In the U.S., nearly every state develops its own curriculum, and while math curricula tend to be more standardized, science varies greatly. In some school districts, children rarely encounter science in elementary school, said Gerald Wheeler, executive director of the National Science Teachers Association, which is based in Arlington, Va...MORE