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

The time is ripe for a concerted effort to improve the achievement of U.S. students in mathematics and science. Recent results from international testing have raised the consciousness of the American public about the importance of establishing and meeting high standards in mathematics and science. As the test results have made clear, too many of our schools are failing to provide the instructional experiences that will enable our students to achieve at the levels we should expect from them.

A New Federal Education Partnership Program at the Department of Transportation Magnetic levitation trains, highways that provide constant updates on traffic conditions ahead and geopositioning satellites that enable travelers to determine where they are anywhere on earth at any time: these are transportation "dreams" well on their way to becoming realities. Such dreams can lead to highly-paid jobs for those with the appropriate skills. Too many students, ill-prepared for such jobs, must leave the dreaming to others. Through the new Garrett A. Morgan Technology and Transportation Futures Program, the Department of Transportation (DOT) will stimulate public-private partnerships to help students and their families understand the importance of mathematics and science for future careers and to make math and science relevant and exciting for students inside and outside the classroom. Such partnerships will encompass interagency collaboration, government-industry cooperation and community involvement. Sample activities include: With the Department of Education and its business and community partners, encouraging the transportation community to participate in the America Goes Back to School program, to build support for mathematics, science, and technology achievement. Helping to change public perceptions about the importance of studying mathematics and science by creating awareness of the wide variety of exciting jobs in transportation that require those skills. Building upon DOT's 300+ adopted schools to provide mentors, tutors, career information, and other forms of support for math literacy; Encouraging staff to support student mathematics achievement in their local communities, by supporting summer, after-school and weekend activities that help students learn or by serving as "telementors," helping students with homework over the Internet. Bringing together private sector sponsorships and expertise and nationally recognized teachers to develop exciting materials with a transportation focus for teaching mathematics, science, and technology.

By focusing our immediate attention on improving performance for middle school mathematics, we will be able to give local, State, and Federal educational agencies a target for action that is substantive, timely, and sufficiently constrained that it is reasonable to anticipate progress. As well as addressing an area of current concern, we can develop models for future action across disciplines and grades.

The interagency cooperation stimulated by the effort to produce this action strategy should have a lasting impact on the effectiveness of Federal programs and activities that support improving achievement in mathematics and science education. In addition to bringing the two agencies with the most extensive programming in this area together, the effort spurred further contact with other potential Federal partners, both those that have a tradition of strong presence in mathematics and science education and those that are new to such efforts.

The effort has been particularly timely in view of the growing interest among mathematicians, scientists and engineers, and business and professional organizations in helping K-12 schools to improve the performance of their students in mathematics and science. The Department of Education, with its links to State and local education agencies and community groups, and the Federal science and technology agencies, with their ties to mathematicians, scientists, and engineers and their national professional organizations, can help make important connections to spur the development of effective partnerships.

But the action strategy is only the beginning of the effort. The interagency cooperation must continue and move to the substantive agenda of implementation. The Department of Education and the National Science Foundation are committed to meeting the challenge of continuing cooperation so that their programs work in concert. They will enable the development of appropriate mechanisms to keep other agencies and the professional scientists, mathematicians and engineers with whom they work actively involved in improving achievement in mathematics and science education. Perhaps most importantly, they will keep the goal of raising the achievement of all American students in mathematics and science at the forefront of their attention at a time when a strong foundation in mathematics and science for all students has never been more important.

But the action strategy must be only the beginning of the effort. The interagency cooperation must continue and move to the substantive agenda of implementation. The Department of Education and the National Science Foundation are committed to meeting the challenge of continuing cooperation so that their programs work in concert. The two agencies will develop appropriate mechanisms to keep other agencies and the professional scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and others with mathematical skills and knowledge with whom they work actively involved in improving achievement in mathematics and science education. Perhaps most importantly, they will keep the goal of raising the achievement of all American students in mathematics and science at the forefront of their attention.

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[Section VI]

[Appendix 1]