The report on Britain's experience outlines the major conversion stages being carried out under the coordinating auspices of a representative Metrication Board. Metric standards will become available and be applied in 1970 to construction industrial materials and to the paper, board, and printing industries. A small start is being made in metric land measurement but the major changeover there will be in 1971. Engineering and shipbuilding are in the first stages of transition and, along with the armed services, have set 1972 as their major target year. Farming also will go metric in 1972 and 1973. Footwear sizes and specifications for fabrics and fibers will be metric in 1972. In 1973 all road speeds will be posted in kilometers per hour. The Metrication Board has no legalistic "big stick." However, it "sets the signals and clears the track" for the switching. Its sanction - which is proving quite adequate - is the warning that any company, industry, or group which is not ready by the agreed upon deadline date will be left behind.

Some Representative Teaching Aids

The statement which NEA is presenting here should not- and cannot- deal with the specific materials and methods of instruction which will make the teaching of metric measurement effective. New teaching aids will be needed, however, as illustrated by the following list of basic items: (1) Meter sticks and metric rulers.

(2) Cubes, squares, strips, and rods calibrated in metric units.

(3) The meter board, 1 centimeter in thickness and 1 meter by 10 cm, with grid lines dividing it into squares. The same board cut into squares which, when stacked, becomes a cube.

(4) Scales and balances calibrated in grams and kilograms, including the scales used in health departments.

(5) Centimeter grid paper.

(6) Maps in metric scale, showing distances and areas in metric units. (7) Cylinders and beakers graduated in metric terms.

(8) Celsius thermometers.

Likewise there are a few basic principles in methodology which experience and logic would seem to dictate, such as:

(1) The instruction in metric measurement will need to begin when the child is first introduced to the concept of measuring an object and should continue to be taught, with growing levels of understanding and application, in every succeeding grade.

(2) Linear units of measure, the easiest to comprehend and apply, will be taught first.

(3) Instruction will need to be restricted to a single system, using metric units only and without the old units "tagging along."

(4) Teachers will first emphasize the most-used prefixes, introducing the less-used ones, such as deci- and deca-, after the basic ones are

(5) Relatively greater stress will be laid on the use of decimals and less on fractions.

(6) Much practice will be needed in using metric standards and estimating in terms of metric units.

Estimated Cost of Conversion

Many variables enter into any estimate of the cost of metrication. When and how rapidly the transition occurs could greatly affect the price tag, so far as schools are concerned. If equipment and materials must be discarded prematurely, conversion could become expensive. If extensive and intensive teacher training must be done quickly, extra costs must be expected. If courses of study and curriculums must be revised under the pressure of close deadlines, funds for such work will be needed. With a more leisurely schedule, the amount varying according to one's assumption, such costs would tend to diminish or disappear altogether.

And again, what is fairly chargeable to the conversion program? How much of the curriculum revision and in-service education, for example, would go forward in any event - if not on metrication on some current educational problem? What part of the new equipment cost for metric materials would be spent on new equipment of some type no matter what system of weights and measures is in effect? What administrative costs associated with metrication are separable and identifiable and which ones would persist if conventional measurement were still in effect? And so it is with other assumptions. There are many obvious variables and very few objective data on which valid estimates can be based.

As stated already, the time schedule for conversion is a critical factor in determining probable school costs. Textbooks and semi-durable instructional materials for elementary and secondary schools are replaced on an average, 5-year cycle. Hence no appreciable extra expenditure for texts and semi-durable materials will be involved if the conversion schedule exceeds 5 years. For more durable equipment some additional obsolescence might be involved, though this should not be excessive. The longer the conversion period the more new metric-scaled equipment can be acquired on normal replacement schedule. The NEA Research Division estimates that to purchase essential new materials and equipment in a single year, at present cost levels, could run from 500 million to 750 million dollars. But if absorbed over a span of several years any extra costs should be minimal.

In the same way the cost of teacher preparation, both preservice and inservice, and any additional administrative and supervisory costs can be largely or wholly absorbed into ongoing programs if the conversion schedule extends over several years. In short, educators foresee no major cost problem for schools, if the United States decides to adopt the metric system- so long as the conversion period is long enough to make use of normal cycles and schedules.

One further fact about probable school costs should be kept in mind. Just

sion, there will be no "dollar savings" to the schools - as some have implied. Any saving in “learning time" for pupils and teachers that the metric system may produce will simply release that time for other learning experiences - it will not reduce school costs.

The Metrication Schedule

The National Education Association does not presume to offer a specific schedule for conversion to metric standards. The educational impact will be only one of many considerations in the development of target dates and conversion deadlines. And even if the educational impact were all-controlling, who can say just what schedule of conversion would be best for the nation's schools. On some facets of this problem, however, there is wide general agreement among educators:

(1) When and if the decision is made to go metric, a "reasonable lead time" would be helpful before any significant segment of the economy makes the critical move.

(2) A dramatic kick-off date, with concerted publicity and fanfare, would help to motivate the early school efforts.

(3) An officially-established, representative board-somewhat like Britain's Metrication Board- would seem to be a helpful agency in setting up and following an orderly, coordinated schedule. Separate deadlines will be needed for various areas of conversion such as, the time for metric measurement to become effective in the sale of groceries; a deadline for metric standards in large industries such as petroleum, coal, steel, automotive, or aircraft; a deadline for fibers and fabrics, papers, and other consumer products; a deadline for metric units on road signs; the time to begin land sales by metric measurement; etc.

(4) If such a schedule is followed, over a spread of perhaps 10 years, schools will have few serious problems of adjustment as they keep pace with conversion efforts.

(5) Undue delay in starting the program-too much lead time in preparation - would be self-defeating, a retarding influence on the work in metric measurement now being launched and extended in the better schools.

Conclusions

First, by and large, the nation's teachers who have seriously considered the matter seem to concur with science and mathematics specialists that adoption of the metric system by the United States will be advantageous not only in the realms of science, technology, and international trade but also in the area of education. They are aware that problems of adjustment will arise and some added costs may have to be assumed. But there will be teaching

Second, the educational impact will be most direct and extensive, but also easiest to accomplish in mathematics and science instruction; but any changeover to metric measurement will be felt in nearly all segments of the school program-for the most part a type of impact that will be welcomed as an improvement.

Third, many schools on their own initiative are beginning to extend and improve their instruction with respect to metric measurement. However, their work lacks motivation and will not become really effective so long as the metric system is a secondary and parallel system. For that reason the official adoption of the metric system by the United States would assist all such schools.

Fourth, the educational advantages of metric measurement cannot be questioned: the simplicity of the system; its interrelatedness; its use of decimals instead of fractions. Few would challenge the fact that the teaching-learning task would be eased for both teachers and pupils, especially for pupils with learning problems.

Fifth, some considerable economy would be effected in the time traditionally spent on elementary arithmetic by both teachers and pupils - time that could be better spent on other types of learning.

Sixth, while obvious problems and some added costs must be anticipated it is our considered opinion that the extent of the problems and costs has frequently been exaggerated; that many of them will be resolved and absorbed almost unnoticed once a well-planned schedule of adoption gets underway.

Finally, we believe that with a reasonable margin of lead time and a program of gradual adoption, spread over a period of perhaps 10 years, there will be few serious problems for schools and educators and none with which they are unable to cope successfully.

For these reasons the position taken by the National Education Association in 1970 and in other recent years seems eminently justified, namely, that a carefully planned effort to convert to the metric system in the United States should be put into effect as soon as possible. When this occurs educators can be relied upon to do their part, willingly and efficiently, in making the new system understandable and functional as the international numerical language of a progressive nation.

Report of the National Science Teachers Association at the Education Conference

Ad Hoc Committee for Study of Conversion to Metric System of Measurements September 1970

The National Science Teachers Association1 is an organization comprised of teachers of science and others connected with any aspect of science education. Its 20,000 members include representation from elementary schools, secondary schools, colleges and universities. The association's activities include curriculum research, teacher education, issues, professional standards and practices, international programs in science education, and programs for science students. It is an affiliate of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and an associated organization of the National Education Association. The draft of this report was prepared exclusively by the Ad Hoc Committee.2 The draft report was reviewed, revised as necessary, and approved by the Association's Board of Directors.

Section I. Classroom Activities and Instructional Procedures

A. PRESENT STATUS

1. Current Usage of the Metric System in Science Teaching

Virtually all courses in science at all grade levels teach and/or use units of measurement. The extent of usage of the metric system depends upon grade level and curriculum origin.

Elementary School Science. More recent elementary school science programs use the metric system widely for making physical measurements and in problem solving. Few, if any, elementary science programs use the imperial system exclusively, although several of them use imperial units in instances where children are more likely to comprehend the magnitude of a quantity (e.g., radius of the earth, distance to the moon) when expressed in a more familiar, imperial unit than in its metric equivalent. The use of convenient, familiar, and arbitrary units, such as the width of a floor tile or the mass of a given washer, is increasingly prevalent in elementary school science. The elementary science programs developed by curricular study groups that are national in scope tend to use metric and arbitrary units exclusively. These include: The AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Program; Elementary Science Study (ESS); The Concep

' 1201 Sixteenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036, Mr. Robert H. Carleton, Executive Secretary.

2 Mr. Fred Blumenfeld, Millburn High School, Millburn, New Jersey 07041; Dr. John Maccini, Science Teaching Center, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20740; Dr. Bobby J. Woodruff, Committee Chairman, Ridgewood High School, Ridgewood, New Jersey.