Wisconsin fares well in Battelle science ed report

By Ryann E. Petit-Frere

ATLANTA - Battelle, a non-profit research organization that focuses on life sciences, released a report analyzing how well the country's states are performing in science education at the BIO International Convention this week. The report's message was clear: All states can do better.

While Wisconsin showed several bright spots in the report titled Taking the Pulse of Bioscience Education in America: A State by State Analysis, there were a few dim spots as well.

Wisconsin ranked in the top 10 for student rankings in areas of ACT and SAT testing and the percentage of certified science and biology teachers (1st for each) and high school graduation rates.

Areas for improvement were identified in student reading averages (Wisconsin ranked 24th) and testing on AP English exams (35th).

More about the report and individual state rankings can be found at the BIO International Convention website: http://www.bio.org/local/battelle2009/main.asp

The Battelle report comes shortly after the release of a more state specific report from the Wisconsin Technology Council, Educating a Tech-Savvy Workforce in Wisconsin. The Tech Council report focuses on the state's need to replenish the pipeline of highly skilled workers in order to be a strong competitor in the 21st century knowledge economy and provides recommendations on how to best move in that direction.

More about the Tech Council report can be found online at http://www.wisconsintechnologycouncil.com/.