Student achievement in science and math has been, and continues to be, a source of great concern in the United States. In 1989, Congress and the nation's governors responded in part by establishing the National Education Goals, one of which stated that U.S. students would be first in the world in science and math achievement by the year 2000. By 1996, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the National Research Council, respectively, had published math and science standards addressing curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

Notwithstanding these efforts, U.S. high school seniors continue to score below the international averages in science and math achievement.¹ Their performance is even more troubling in light of the above-average achievement of U.S. fourth graders in both subjects. Why do U.S. students, on average, lose ground in science and math as they progress through their education careers? What factors contribute to their lagging performance? And what can parents and teachers do to solve this problem?

This issue of The ERIC Review focuses on science and math education in the United States and suggests answers to these questions. It concentrates on U.S. students in grades K-8 instead of on older students, who typically exhibit lower achievement relative to their international counterparts. Why focus on younger students? Because students who enroll in algebra as eighth graders are more likely to complete higher-level math courses in high school--and to apply to four-year colleges--than those who don't.² Consequently, the efforts of the United States to elevate its high school students to world-class status in science and math will necessarily concentrate on grades K-8.

Steven Rakow's introduction to this issue of The ERIC Review describes the changing face of science and mathematics education in terms of teaching students how to reason, solve problems, and make decisions--skills necessary to succeed not only in science- and math-related careers but also in the increasingly high-tech world. Section 1: Questions and Answers contains several short articles that address common parental concerns about science and math education in a question-and-answer format. Section 2: Performance, Policies, and Practices begins with two articles that can help familiarize parents with new forms of classroom assessment and how the forms relate to national math and science standards. The remaining articles, which describe the international standing of U.S. math and science education and discuss best practices in the classroom, may be of more interest to teachers. Section 3: Equity and Excellence focuses on specific segments of the population and how each can succeed in, and contribute to, the fields of science and math if given the chance. Several articles in this section describe the critical need for girls, minorities, and English-language learners to pursue science and math education and related careers. Other articles discuss the challenges of educating students with special needs and gifted students in science and math. Section 4: Initiatives and Resources begins with an article that summarizes many federal programs and initiatives that support science and math education, as well as a variety of associated resources that teachers may find especially helpful. The remainder of this section includes descriptions of print and electronic resources that parents and teachers may find useful in their efforts to help children reach their full potential in science and math. The issue concludes with steps that parents, teachers, school administrators, and community members can take to facilitate effective education reform in science and math.

If you would like more information about what the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) has to offer, details on how to access the ERIC database, or a referral to one of the 16 subject-specific ERIC Clearinghouses, please call 1-800-LET-ERIC (538-3742), send an e-mail to accesseric@accesseric.org, or browse the ERIC system's Web pages at http://www.eric.ed.gov/ .

¹National Center for Education Statistics. 1997. Third International Mathematics and Science Study. Washington, DC: Author. (Available online at http://nces.ed.gov/timss)

²National Center for Education Statistics. 1999. Do Gatekeeper Courses Expand Education Options? Washington, DC: Author. (Available online at http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=1999303)

The materials in this journal are in the public domain and may be reproduced and disseminated freely. All Web addresses appearing in this issue were updated in August 1999. Some addresses may have changed since that time.

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The New Three R's

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