Published: May 21, 2009 10:25 pm      

Lagging behind 05/23/09

Best way to lure biotech firms is to improve bioscience scores

Gov. Steve Beshear is attending the Biotechnology Industry Organization’s (BIO) international convention in Atlanta in hopes of luring biotech companies to Kentucky. However, one of the best ways for Kentucky to convince cutting-edge biotech companies to locate in the state would be to improve the test scores of Kentucky students in the biosciences.

In a new report funded and researched by BIO, Battelle and the Biotechnology Institute, Kentucky is ranked near the middle of the 50 states in preparing high school students for pursuing degrees in the biosciences in college. Kentucky is listed among the states with “middling performance,” which is one step higher than the 10 states — including neighboring West Virginia — with “lagging performance.”

Doing a better job of preparing high school students for college biology were neighboring Ohio — which was listed among the “Leaders of the Pack” among the 50 states — and Illinois and Missouri, which were among the “Second Tier” states.

In what was called the first ever comprehensive report of high school and middle school bioscience education, the study found that only 28 percent of high school students taking the American College Test were found to be prepared for a biology class on the college level. Even in the states rated among the best by the study, more than 50 percent of students were not deemed adequately prepared for college biology. Just over half of high school seniors — 52 percent — were found to be at or above the basic level of achievement in all sciences

However, perhaps the most discouraging finding by the new study is that — despite all the empahsis on improving science and math instruction in recent years — average scores for high school seniors in the sciences actually declined between 1996 and 2005.

Why is this important? James Greenwood, president of BIO, explains it best: “The biosciences are a dynamic economic driver with a sizable footprint in every state. The biotechnology industry is a knowledge-based sector dependent on the skills of its workers. Bioscience workers are needed to conduct research, translate innovation into product development and improved health care techniques and, ultimately, to manufacture biomedical and other bioscience-related products. The prospects of the United States losing its competitive edge in student achievement and the subsequent skills of our future workforce is a matter of significant concern.”

Governor Beshear certainly recognizes the economic potential of advancements in bioscience. That’s why he was in Atlanta attending BIO’s international conference.

The good news is that Kentucky does not rank among the worst states in preparing high school students to study the biosciences in college. But the state still has a long way to go. Closing the gap in bioscience education that now exits between Kentucky and neighboring Ohio will do as much — or more — in attracting bioscience companies to this state than the governor attending a confab of executives of those companies.