NSB-98-183
October 5, l998


MEMORANDUM TO: Members and Consultants of the National Science Board

SUBJECT:  Preliminary Report of the September 30, l998 Executive Committee and
        EHR Subcommittee on Science and Engineering Indicators Meetings and the
        October 2, l998 Education and Human Resources Committee Meeting

Below are summaries of the l998 Executive Committee videoteleconference
meeting and EHR Subcommittee on Science and Engineering Indicators
teleconference meeting held on September 30, l998, and the Education and Human
Resources teleconference meeting held on October 2, l998.  (Materials for
committee summaries are provided by executive secretaries.)

Executive Committee (EC)

The Director reported on the appointment of Dr. Ruzena Bajcsy, of the
University of Pennsylvania, as Assistant Director for Computer and Information
Science and Engineering and on the status of the NSF FY 1999 and FY 2000
budgets.  The committee was briefed on the activities of other NSB committees
since the August 1998 NSB meeting, and discussed the May 1999 NSB awards
event.   The committee reviewed the revised draft of the NSB strategic plan
and concurred with distributing it to the Board with the aim of final
discussion and approval at the November 18-20 NSB meeting.

Education and Human Resources (EHR)

The Committee was briefed on progress being made on the preparation of a white
paper by the TIMMS Task Force.  The central theme of the document is that of
content standards.  A report from the Science and Engineering Subcommittee
outlined a potential format for "Science and Engineering Indicators-2000"
which will have, in order to honor the 50th anniversary of the NSB and NSF,
content from both the past and the present.  The Committee was updated on the
upcoming EHR field hearing scheduled for Puerto Rico.  The Committee decided
upon Committee member assignments for future discussions on the implementing
of the NSB strategic plan, on the impact of diversity on the culture of K-12
and higher education, on the role of the SAT and GRE examinations and, on the
interplay between foreign and domestic students.  In November, Dr. Williams
will update the Committee on urban K-12 reform and collaborations between the
Foundation and the Department of Education as well as other foundations.

EHR Subcommittee on Science and Engineering Indicators (S&EI)

The S&EI Subcommittee met via teleconference on September 30, 1998 and
discussed the draft structure of Science and Engineering Indicators-2000. The
report will cover the major data trends and topics the report traditionally
includes.  The chapter analyses would primarily focus on relatively current
data trends and issues. However, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Board
and the NSF, the report would present some historical comparisons of the
status of the S&E enterprise at the time of the founding of NSF, based
primarily on materials available in the Bush and Steelman reports. This would
be accomplished by developing a special introductory chapter discussing the
situation of the S&E enterprise 50 years ago when the National Science
Foundation was created.

In addition, specially identified historical sidebars would be developed for
each chapter which would use the actual texts, figures and tables of the Bush
and Steelman reports as one of the ways of communicating the status of the S&E
enterprise 50 years ago.  The introductions of each of the chapters would set
the context of the chapter by identifying some of the major current issues and
topics of concern, and where appropriate compare and/or contrast them with the
issues and themes of the past.

It was decided to try to  continue to have a separate chapter on the
significance of information technology (IT) with the option of having the
topic discussed in a prominent fashion in another chapter(s) if the
stand-alone does not work.

On the basis of the agreed upon report structure, staff will develop detailed
draft chapter outlines including subheadings, measures to be used, proposals
for sidebars, and proposals of issues emerging from historical comparisons and
trends that should be highlighted in the body of the chapters for discussion
and review by the S&EI Subcommittee in November.

There was discussion of how the Board could best present their views and
commentary on policy issues identified by the S&E Indicators report. Dr.
Cehelsky suggested that the issues identified in the chapters could serve as a
"hook" for developing additional Board reports or papers.




                                                Marta Cehelsky Executive
                                                Officer