Dennis Redovich
January 20, 2001

Nobel Prizes Show U.S. Science Education Is World’s Best

Disputes conservatives' contention about the quality of US Public Education

According to an analysis of Nobel prizes awarded in science over the past century, the United States leads the world in technology and in the quality of its scientists.

Paradoxically, the general news media, and the experts it chooses to quote, frequently state the following two seemingly mutually exclusive ideas about the US educational system:

1. American elementary and secondary education is not competitive with and on average is below the level of education in other countries, particularly in science and mathematics.
2. The quality of American colleges and universities is generally considered to be exalted in the world of postsecondary education.

How could both of these statements be correct? The answer is: they aren't. The first statement is absolute nonsense and the second is absolutely true.

American colleges and universities are the best in the world, but that could only be true if their foundation -- American public primary and secondary schools -- were also the best in the world. It just cannot be that US primary and secondary schools are the root of all educational evil - as asserted by conservative movement leaders - and that US Universities are the best, as is well acknowledged.

It follows that the high quality of American colleges and universities can be traced to their domestic university students, who in turn primarily come from American public high schools. Those same schools produce large numbers of bright, innovative, competitive, and hard working graduates.

Certainly, the primary reason for the high quality of American baccalaureate and graduate education is not, as has been asserted by some, because postsecondary instruction and teachers have been shown to be superior to elementary and secondary instruction and teachers. Universities are in large measure only as good as their students.

It is incomprehensible how American school critics - including politicians and conservative think tanks - are allowed to get away with the bashing of all American K-12 schools based on bad analysis of invalid and useless international test scores, without serious challenge by an academically disadvantaged media.

Nobel Prizes in Science –Chemistry, Physics and Medicine 1951 to 2000

The United States is by far the leading country in the world since 1951 in awards of Nobel Prizes in Science, which includes Chemistry, Physics and Medicine-Physiology. United States scientists received 171 or 55% of the 309 Nobel Prizes in Science awarded from 1951 to 2000. The United States has received a majority of Nobel Prizes in Science each decade from 1951 to 2000. From 1991 to 2000 U.S. scientists earned 35 (57%) of the 61 Nobel Prizes in Science. The following table shows the top 10 countries in the world in numbers of Nobel Prizes in Science awarded 1951 to 2000.

Nobel Prizes in Science 1951 to 2000

Top 10 Countries in the World

Country of Citizenship Chemistry Physics Medicine Total Nobel Prizes Total Nobels 88 108 113 309 1. United States 40 (46%) 64 (59%) 67 (59%) 171 (55%) 2. Great Britain 19 (22%) 7 (6%) 14 (12%) 40 (13%) 3. Germany 10 (11%) 11 (10%) 9 (8%) 30 (10%) 4. Russia 1 (1%) 8 (7%) 1 (1%) 10 (3%) 5. France 0 4 (4%) 5 (4%) 9 (3%) 6. Sweden 0 2 (2%) 6 (5%) 8 (3%) (tie) 7. Canada 3 (3%) 2 (2%) 0 5 (2%) (tie) 7. Denmark 1 (1%) 4 (4%) 0 5 (2%) (tie) 7. Japan 2 (2%) 2 (2%) 1 (1%) 5 (2%) 10. Switzerland 1 (1%) 0 3 (3%) 4 (1%)

Nobel Prizes in Science 1901 to 2000

Nobel Prizes for Chemistry, 1901-2000

Americans All of Europe All Other Countries Total 1901-1950 7 (15%) 39 (85%) 0 46 1951-2000 40 (46%) 38 (43%) 10 (11%) 88

Nobel Prizes for Physics, 1901-2000

Americans All of Europe All Other Countries Total 1901-1950 9 (17%) 43 (80%) 2 (4%) 54 1951-2000 64 (59%) 39 (36%) 5 (5%) 108

Nobel Prizes for Medicine and Physiology, 1901-2000

Americans All of Europe All Other Countries Total 1901-1950 15 (25%) 44 (73%) 1 (2%) 60 1951-2000 67 (59%) 42 (37%) 4 (4%) 113

Total Nobel Prizes for Science, 1901-2000

Americans All of Europe All Other Countries Total 1901-1950 31 (19%) 126 (79%) 3 (2%) 160 1951-2000 171 (55%) 119 (39%) 19 (6%) 309 1901-2000 202 (43%) 245 (52%) 22 (5%) 469

The percentage of Americans receiving Nobel prizes in Science (chemistry, physics, physiology or medicine) increased dramatically from the first to the second half of the twentieth century.

The Europeans completely dominated the winning of Nobel prizes for the first 30 years (Germans and British were the biggest winners). Americans won only 6 prizes in the first 30 years (Europeans earned 86) and Americans didn't receive their first prizes in Physics until 1907, Chemistry until 1914 and Physiology or Medicine until 1930.

Since 1950 Americans have dominated the winning of Nobel prizes in Physics and Physiology or Medicine, and have been about equal in Chemistry. However, since 1980 Americans have won 20 Chemistry prizes while all of Europe has won 10.

Critics of American science education have implied that foreign-born scientists are the primary reason for the American dominance in science since World War II. That is not the case. In the tabulations by country in this study the country designated for the scientist is the country where the scientific work was done. For example, Albert Einstein received a 1921 Nobel Prize for work he did in Germany and was counted as a German recipient and not as a U.S. citizen. Dramatic increases of American recipients of Nobel prizes have occurred since 1970 with few foreign-trained scientists earning prizes. On the other hand, many foreign born scientists come to the U.S to receive their advanced science education and then remain in the U.S., seduced by the quality of our scientific and academic institutions.

The visible quality accomplishments of American scientists and engineers are recognized throughout the world. At a European conference for institutional research held in Trier Germany in 1989 a German presenter pointed out that Americans had received 41 Nobel Prizes for chemistry and physics from 1979 to 1989 while all of Europe earned 20. The speaker used this data as part of his criticism of European science education as compared to the United States. When I asked him how many Nobel Prizes the Japanese had received in the last 10 years he said two. (The revered Japan has won five Nobel Prizes in Science 1901-2000.) Japanese universities are not highly regarded in the world for their academics, but Europeans, as Americans, fear Japan economically.

The quality of American education continues to improve even as conservatives and the media berate it based on irrelevant and invalid standardized testing. Insane is too mild a term for the standardized testing mania that is sweeping the United States. Conversely, praise for American students at all educational levels might motivate our exemplary American schools to improve even more. There is no doubt, American schools produce the finest scientists in the world!

Dennis W. Redovich, redovich@execpc.com

Originally written October 1992 and revised each year October 1993 to 2000

Sources: World of Winners Gale Research, World Almanac 1999, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel October 2000