The National Defense Education Act

U.S. Department of Education calls the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) the "first example of comprehensive Federal education legislation," which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958 following the USSR's launch of the Sputnik satellite roughly one year earlier. As in custom assignment written by edubirdie, its title suggests, the act was intended to improve mathematics, science, engineering and foreign languages education in order to compete with the USSR and strengthen "national defense."

The stated purpose of the act was "to help develop as rapidly as possible those skills essential to the national defense." A total of $470 million was used for "upgrading instruction" on the state and federal level under Title 3 of the act. Out of that funding, $70 million in grants were sent to the States each year, 12% of which went to private institutions as loans for the purpose of purchasing new equipment for instruction in mathematics, science, engineering and foreign languages from 1959 to 1962. During the same four years, $5 million was sent to the States for improving "supervisory services" in the same subject areas. The state supervisors were hired to "survey state needs, write curriculum guides and resource materials and help school districts with programs." By the end of 1960, 161 new state supervisors were hired and 118 new or proposed curriculum guides in mathematics, science and foreign language were reported.

Students who intended to attain degrees in mathematics, science, engineering or foreign language could receive up to $2,500 annually for up to four years in student aid, even if they were attending school part-time. If the student agreed to teach in a K-12 school upon graduation, up to half of the loan was forgiven. For the fiscal year of 1959, a total of $47.5 million was used for the student loan program. Over $75 million was authorized for NDEA student loans in the fiscal year of I960. By 1968, those funds jumped to $195 million for the fiscal year.

During the fiscal year of 1960, $13.4 million was given to the states for establishing high school guidance and counseling programs to prepare students for entrance into institutions of higher education as well as establishing a system of standardized testing designed to "identify students with outstanding aptitudes and abilities" authorized under title 5. Standardized testing was initiated as a mechanism for identifying students with high output and utility- value for serving cold war interests.

The subject of "national defense" was given significant priority in the act. Title 10 states that in order to receive funding through the act, students must swear an oath of allegiance to the United States as well as file an affidavit stating "that he does not believe in, and is not a member of and does not support any organization that believes in or teachers, the overthrow of the United States Government by force or violence or by any illegal or unconstitutional methods." The "loyalty oath" provision was later repealed when it was found to hinder the distribution of loans to students.