[T]preparation our students receive in mathematics and science is, in a word, unacceptable. Despite our good intentions, their learning is too often superficial. Students’ grasp of science as a process of discovery, and of mathematics as the language of scientific reasoning, is often formulaic, fragile, or absent altogether.
Before It’s Too
Late
National Commission on Mathematics
and Science Teaching for the 21st Century
U.S. Department of Education, 2000
A National Research Council study of how people learn concludes that the non-school community has a major impact on education.
Many aspects of school culture can be explained as a mismatch between what students have learned in their home cultures and what is required of them in the school culture. Issues of cultural practice are extremely important for understanding the multiple ways that students learn and for helping them achieve learning fluency.
This influence is, at least in part, a function of exposure time. Assuming a school day is seven hours and the school year were extended to 200 days, formal student-school contact would account for only 16% of the hours in a calendar year. If, in addition, it is assumed that students sleep eight hours each day (33% of the year), there is 51% of the year given over to informal student-community education. Thus, the broader community has three times as many waking hours to influence education as does school. Moreover, for the average student who spends about one-third of that community time watching television, student-television contact time is about the same as student-school contact time.
How People Learn: Brain,
Mind, Experience, and School
National
Academy of Sciences, 1999
[Y]oung learners arrive at school with prior knowledge that can facilitate or impede learning. The implications for schooling are many, not the least of which is that teachers must address the multiple levels of knowledge and perspectives of children’s prior knowledge, with all of its inaccuracies and misconceptions.
How People Learn: Brain,
Mind, Experience, and School
National
Academy of Sciences, 1999
In the early part of the twentieth century, education focused on the acquisition of literacy skills: simple reading, writing, and calculating. It was not the general rule for educational systems to train people to think and read critically, to express themselves clearly and persuasively, to solve complex problems of mathematics and science. Now, at the end of the century, these aspects of high literacy are required of almost everyone in order to successfully negotiate the complexities of life…. Fundamental understanding about subjects, including how to frame and ask meaningful questions about various subject areas, contributes to individuals’ more basic understanding of principles of learning that can assist them in becoming self-sustaining, lifelong learners.
How People Learn: Brain,
Mind, Experience, and School
National
Academy of Sciences, 1999
Society’s general expectations of today’s schools is much greater than it was a century ago. Today, "doing mathematics" includes generating and solving problems, abstracting generalizations, and justifying and judging the relative quality of solutions. "Doing science" includes testing theories through observation and experimentation. In general, schools are expected to produce graduates who can "identify and solve problems and make contributions to society throughout their lifetime."
How People Learn: Brain,
Mind, Experience, and School
National
Academy of Sciences, 1999
What scientists-to-be need from school are the higher-order thinking skills "to distinguish evidence from propaganda, probability from certainty, rational beliefs from superstitions, data from assertions, science from folklore, credibility from incredibility, theory from dogma."
Paul DeHart Hurd, Stanford University
"The False Crisis in Science Education"
Scientific American, October 1999
It is the conviction of the National Science Board that world class achievement in science and mathematics education is of critical importance to our Nation's future. In the new global context, a scientifically literate population is vital to democratic process, a healthy economy, and our quality of life.
Failing Our Children
National Science Board, 1998
In the past, ... schools were tailored to the needs of a small cadre of well-educated individuals, while a larger number of students had to settle for more modest skills. This what the [Business] Roundtable is trying to change, with a bottom-line goal of enhancing academic achievement for all students.
CEO Education Reform Orientation Guide
The Business Roundtable, 1999
Of thirteen jobs predicted to experience the largest number of new positions by 2006, only three require a BA degree: systems analyst, general manager, and secondary school teacher.
Monthly Labor Review, November 1997
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Most students are not meeting defined current national levels of 'proficiency' in mathematics on NAEP [National Assessment of Educational Progress], and long-term trends in mathematics performance show little improvement.
Improving Mathematics Education Using Results from NAEP and
TIMSS
Council of Chief State School Officers, 1999
A study by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement strongly supports the assertion of school reform advocates that a solid high school curriculum is key to closing the achievement gap between minority and nonminority students. In particular, the study revealed that the level of mathematics studied in high school — and not race or family income — appeared to have the greatest influence on earning a bachelors degree. The study’s author said that, controlling for all other influences, "Finishing a mathematics course beyond the level of Algebra 2 more than doubles the odds that a kid will get a bachelor's degree." The study is based on data gathered on a national cohort of students from entry in grade 10 in 1980 until about age 30 in 1993.
Answers in the Tool Box
U.S. Department of Education, 1999
In the TIMSS [Third International Mathematics and Science Study of 41 countries] mathematics results, U.S. students ranked high in 4th grade, below average in 8th grade, and almost last at grade 12.
Improving Mathematics Education Using Results from NAEP and
TIMSS
Council of Chief State School Officers, 1999
U.S. 12th-graders scored below the international average and among the lowest of the 21 nations participating in both mathematics and science general knowledge. The United States outperformed only South Africa and Cyprus on both assessments.
TIMSS Overview of Key Findings Across Grade Levels
U.S. Department of Education, 1998
The performance of U.S. physics and advanced mathematics students was ... among the lowest of the 16 countries that administered the physics and math assessments.
TIMSS Overview of Key Findings Across Grade Levels
U.S. Department of Education, 1998
These TIMSS [Third International Mathematics and Science Study] results are entirely unacceptable and absolutely confirm our need to raise our standards of achievement, testing, and teaching, especially in our middle and high schools — and to get more serious about taking math and science courses.
Richard W. Riley
U.S. Secretary of Education, 1998
[E]ven the basic skills — the old 3 Rs — take on a new meaning. First, all employees will have to read well enough to understand and interpret diagrams, directories, correspondence, manuals, records, charts, graphs, tables, and specifications.
What Work Requires of Schools
The Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS), 1991
U.S. Department of Labor
The 1996 National Achievement of Educational Progress (NAEP) test in mathematics reported results for grades 4 and 8 in terms of four achievement levels.
Advanced Superior performance
Proficient Solid academic performance; demonstrated competency in knowledge of mathematics, application of mathematics to real-world situations, and analytical skills appropriate to mathematics
Basic Partial mastery of mathematical knowledge/skills appropriate to the grade level
Below Basic
The percent of U.S. public school students reaching each of the four achievement levels on the NAEP mathematics test were:
Grade 4: 2% Advanced 20% Proficient 40% Basic 38% Below Basic
Grade 8: 4% Advanced 19% Proficient 28% Basic 39% Below Basic
NAEP 1996 Mathematics Report Card for the Nation and the States
National Center for Education Statistics, 1997
Performance at both grade levels varies widely by ethnic group. The percentages of U.S. students achieving ratings of Advanced or Proficient were:
Grade 4: 26% White 5% Black 7% Hispanic
Grade 8: 30% White 4% Black 8% Hispanic
The percentages of U.S. students failing to achieve the Basic level of achievement in mathematics were:
Grade 4: 26% White 68% Black 60% Hispanic
Grade 8: 27% White 73% Black 63% Hispanic
NAEP 1996 Mathematics Report Card for the Nation and the States
National Center for Education Statistics, 1997
The 1996 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test in science provided state-by-state assessment of grade 8 student for 40 states for the first time. For the U.S. as a whole, 29% of the grade 8 students achieved a level of Proficient or above, but performance rates varied widely across groups.
37% White 5% Black 11% Hispanic
Mathematics and Science Achievement State by State
National Education Goals Panel, 1998
We need to make dramatic improvements in student achievement, especially in middle schools and high schools. U.S. students don't start out behind; they fall behind. U.S. fourth grade students are among the very best in the world in science and above the international average in math. By high school our students score near the bottom of TIMSS [Third International Mathematics and Science Study] nations in both subjects — alarming news for a nation that wants to remain a world economic leader.
Policy Brief: What TIMSS Means for Systemic School Improvement
U.S. Department of Education, 1999
The NAEP is a much more valid indicator of nationwide student performance than the oft-cited Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). In fact, the SAT is not designed to compare student performance over time because it is not taken by a statistically representative sample of the nation’s students. The SAT actually is taken by a different mix of students each year and excludes non-college-bound students — the group registering the largest gains in scores. Therefore, using the SAT as a "national report card" on American education is at best misleading.
"Student Performance and the Changing American Family"
RAND Research Brief (RB-8009), 1994
Average SAT mathematics scores for the class of 1999 differed significantly across racial/ethnic groups, from 422 (Black students) to 560 (Asian students). Black students lagged behind White students (528) by over 100 points; Native Americans (480) trailed Whites by almost 50 points. Scores of Hispanic groups were 65 to 80 points lower than Whites.
"ETS Creating Demographic Index for SAT"
Education Week, 8 September 1999
By the year 2050, minority groups will account for more that half of the U.S. population.
New York Times
3 February 1997
NAEP long-term trend assessments in mathematics have been in use since 1973 for America’s 9-, 13-, and 17-year-olds.
Report in Brief: NAEP 1996 Trends in Academic Progress
U.S. Department of Education, August 1998
NAEP long-term trend assessments in science have been in use since 1969 for America’s 17-year-olds and since 1970 for 9- and 13-year olds.
Report in Brief: NAEP 1996 Trends in Academic Progress
U.S. Department of Education, August 1998
Tests are how the standards become real for students, teachers, parents and policymakers. By the year 2000, 47 states will have new assessments in reading and mathematics at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. However, only 28 states also will have assessments in science and history/social studies.
Aiming High: 1998 Report
Achieve, Inc.
You know as a progressive I am often accused of being well meaning, well intentioned, but naive, utopian. You know, 'what a lovely idea if, but unfortunately in the real world ...' And then I look at this system that virtually all of the states, all of the governors, every corporate group, most newspapers have signed onto, which is based on the assumption that people who are threatened with loss of jobs, loss of salaries, loss of diplomas will say, 'Gee, now I'm motivated to do my best.' And they call us naive!
Alfie Kohn (Keynote Address)
International Education Summit, 6 June 2000
U.S. eighth-grade mathematics and science curricula are less focused and less advanced than that of other nations. For example, most other nations consider topics from algebra, geometry, physics, and chemistry [in the eighth grade] while U.S. curricula continues to cover more repetitive and less challenging material.
TIMSS Overview of Key Findings Across Grade Levels
U.S. Department of Education, 1998
U.S. textbooks cover more mathematics and science topic areas than international textbooks. For example, the typical U.S. eighth-grade mathematics textbook covers 35 topics while the typical Japanese eighth-grade textbook covers only seven.
TIMSS Overview of Key Findings Across Grade Levels
U.S. Department of Education, 1998
Eighth-graders — a world view:
Mathematics Achievement in the Middle School Years
U.S. Department of Education, 1996
Success rates in mathematics at community colleges are the lowest among eight of the largest disciplines. Only 52 percent of students completed their mathematics courses with a grade of C or better in Fall 1997.
Successful Course Completion in Credit Classes
Office of the Chancellor, California Community Colleges, 1999
Only 4 percent of Los Angeles Community College District students test at college levels in mathematics on placement exams — that is, above the level of intermediate algebra. Of the remainder, 42 percent are judged ready to enter intermediate algebra and 54 are judged ready only for beginning algebra or below.
"Math Equals Fear at 2-Year Colleges"
Los Angeles Times, 15 March 1999
Five years after the Milwaukee Public Schools instituted mandatory algebra for high school freshmen, only about half of the students taking the course are passing. That figure has dropped substantially from 1991, when algebra was an elective and 74 percent of students were passing the course. As a result, opponents of mandatory algebra claim it is driving up dropout rates by discouraging students who fail the course. But supporters say there are more kids passing algebra now than were even taking the course in 1991.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
28 February 1999
Some parents are afraid that the emphasis on standardized testing is dragging down the level of instruction at schools that have until now applied more-creative teaching techniques. In several Detroit suburbs, parents have
refused to allow their children to take the state test. In California, Wisconsin and Illinois, students have walked out of state tests in protest. In Cambridge, Massachusetts, several parents created their own curriculum for their children
to follow on the days when their fourth-grade classmates were preparing for and taking a state test. Said Tim Wise, one of the parents, the eight-hour state test has become a "thoroughly unreasonable, out-of-control behemoth."
Christian Science Monitor
"If These Are High Standards, We Don't Want Them"
19 October 1999
In testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business, The Chairman of the Board of the National Alliance of Business (NAB) stated that NAB is focused on efforts to "improve the quality of teachers, to increase that standards and content of mathematics and science education, and to integrate technology into education" [emphasis in the original]. He asserted that "Math and science are more and more the keys to success in the workplace and higher education."
Congressional testimony of Edward B. Rust
Chairman and CEO of State Farm Insurance
25 May 1999
In a July 1999 letter to the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, the Business Coalition for Education Reform (BCER) issued a joint policy statement on critical issues associated with the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The thirteen national business groups of the BCER state their support for investing in the National Assessment of Educational Progress effort to gather trend data and proficiency-level data, to engage in international measurement and comparison programs such as the Third International Mathematics and Science Study, and to maintain a "strong, independent National Education Goals Panel" to focus on progress toward educational goals in America.
Letter from the BCER to the Honorable William F. Goodling
28 June 1999