A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

The Department of Education (ED) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) have principal responsibility, among the Federal agencies, for K-12 education and for science and mathematics, respectively. However, a dozen other departments and agencies sponsor activities that relate to, and could promote, standards-based education that improves students' mathematics and science learning and overall academic performance.

Executive Order 12821 of November 16, 1992, instructs those Federal departments and agencies with scientific missions, employees, or laboratories to "assist in the mathematics and science education of our Nation's students, teachers, parents, and the public by establishing programs at their agency to provide for training elementary and secondary school teachers to improve their knowledge of mathematics and science." Many agencies had such programs in place even before this Order was issued. On April 17, 1996, it was superseded by Executive Order 12999 on Educational Technology, which "streamlines the transfer of excess and surplus Federal computer equipment to our nation's classrooms and encourages Federal employees to volunteer their time and expertise to assist teachers and to connect classrooms." The Eisenhower National Clearinghouse catalogues current programs in its "Guidebook of Federal Resources for K-12 Mathematics and Science" (see www.enc.org/reform/guidebk).

The working group met with designated representatives from 11 agencies (the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Interior, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs, EPA, NASA, NIH, and the Smithsonian) to discuss relevant programs and activities sponsored by their agencies. In general, the agencies focus far more on science than mathematics, and commit modest resources to improving K-12 education. Most offer staff and facilities, often on a volunteer basis, to support local schools and teachers and have developed and are sharing supplementary instructional materials on their Web sites. Some examples of works in progress can be cited. For more extended, specific examples, see sidebars in the report.

• NASA has completely revamped its educational programs to reflect the development of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' (NCTM) standards for mathematics and the more recent standards for science developed through the National Research Council (NRC). The agency has developed supplementary instructional materials in conjunction with NCTM that provide sample problems based on space-related examples.

• The Department of Defense schools have redesigned curriculum and teacher professional development to incorporate standards-based approaches. Other parts of DoD have outreach programs that stress the importance of mathematics to national security.

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded grants to schools, state agencies, nonprofit organizations, and others to support environmental education programs, many of which take place in schools. More recently grants have also been directed toward programs that tie environmental education to state and local education reform goals. A consortium of nonprofit organizations and universities is delivering environmental education training to K-12 teachers and other education professionals in all 50 states and several U.S. territories, using EPA funds. As part of this effort, national guidelines for environmental education are being developed and correlated to various national and state standards for mathematics, science, and other disciplines.

• The Department of Energy, NIH, and USDA are conducting an inventory of their activities, identifying their impacts and exploring opportunities to expand. Among ideas that warrant further consideration are virtual teacher training based at DOE's Lawrence Berkeley Lab in partnership with the University of California system; USDA's 4-H Clubs as an after-school, weekend, and summer vehicle for promoting math skills; EPA's use of the training-of-trainer model for teacher development in environmental education; and NIH's middle-school curriculum supplements, to be developed among three Institutes and the NRC.

• The Department of Transportation has embarked on an extensive effort to improve K-12 education in mathematics and science, including participation of staff as volunteers. The Smithsonian Institution has both formal and informal ties into schools. Other agencies are ready to play an appropriate role in improving K-12 education, and are looking for guidance on how best to proceed.

We must learn more quickly and more systematically about approaches and innovations that support students and teachers of mathematics both in and outside of schools, taking into account high standards like those of the NCTM and the NRC to reference, guide, coordinate, and set priorities among the many educational programs managed by Federal agencies. Continued coordination among all of the agencies involved in the working group's deliberations, and others that might be brought in over time, can set the stage for more effective use of Federal resources. The Department of Education and the National Science Foundation will work to ensure such coordination in the future.

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[Appendix 5]