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National Report Confirms Bayer Research Finding - Science Should Be the "Fourth R"

National Report Confirms Bayer Research Finding - Science Should Be the "Fourth R"

Published 06-27-11

Submitted by Bayer

A new report from the Congressionally-chartered National Research Council (NRC) recommends that science be taught as rigorously as math and reading in America's classrooms.

The recommendation that science effectively become the "fourth R" alongside reading, writing and arithmetic confirms a key finding revealed in six previous Bayer Facts of Science Education surveys. In those surveys, audiences as diverse as corporate executives, elementary school teachers, American parents and the nation's female and minority chemists and chemical engineers all support the notion that in elementary school science should be given equal priority with the other three fundamental subjects.

The new NRC report, "Successful K-12 STEM Education: Identifying Effective Approaches in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics," argues that STEM subjects are basic aspects of Americans' lives as citizens, consumers, parents and workers. Thus, providing today's students with access to high-quality STEM education is important to their future and the future of the country.

"An increasing number of jobs at all levels - not just for professional scientists - require knowledge of STEM," the report says. "In addition, individual and societal decisions increasingly require some understanding of STEM, from comprehending medical diagnoses to evaluating competing claims about the environment to managing daily activities with a wide variety of computer-based applications."

"At Bayer, we couldn't agree more," said Rebecca Lucore, Executive Director of the Bayer USA Foundation. "In fact, our Making Science Make Sense® initiative is based precisely on this rationale and invests in the kind of quality science education that fosters in students the kind of science literacy skills they will need to be successful, regardless of the career paths they choose."

Making Science Make Sense (MSMS), formalized in 1995, is Bayer's award-winning companywide initiative that advances science literacy across the United States through support of inquiry-based, hands-on science education, employee volunteerism and a public education/ advocacy campaign. The annual Bayer Facts of Science Education survey series is a component of the MSMS public education/advocacy campaign. Commissioned since 1995, the surveys gauge the attitudes and opinions of various individuals about issues related to science, science literacy and STEM education. For more information, please visit www.BayerUS.com/MSMS.

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About Bayer Corporation
Bayer Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, is a subsidiary of Bayer AG, an international health care, nutrition and high-tech materials group based in Leverkusen, Germany. The company’s products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. The Corporation is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its role as a socially and ethically responsible corporate citizen. Economy, ecology and social responsibility are corporate policy objectives of equal rank. In North America, Bayer had 2010 net sales of EUR 8.23 billion ($10.86 billion) and employed 16,400 at year-end. For more information, go to www.bayerus.com.

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Bayer: Science For A Better Life

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the Life Science fields of health care and agriculture. Its products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen. In fiscal 2015, the Group employed around 117,000 people and had sales of EUR 46.3 billion. Capital expenditures amounted to EUR 2.6 billion, R&D expenses to EUR 4.3billion. These figures include those for the high-tech polymers business, which was floated on the stock market as an independent company named Covestro on October 6, 2015. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

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