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President Bush today issued an executive order creating a National Mathematics Advisory Panel to advise him and Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings on the best use of scientifically based research on the teaching and learning of math.

Based on the influential National Reading Panel, the math advisory board will convene experts to evaluate the effectiveness of various approaches to teaching math and in so doing, create a research base to improve instructional methods for teachers.

The group's interim report will be submitted to the president and secretary by Jan. 31 with specific recommendations on a range of topics related to math education, based on the best available scientific evidence.

"We look forward to receiving the panel's recommendations, and we hope it will form a blueprint on how to promote excellence in mathematics education," Secretary Spellings said. "As I've said before, it is more important than ever that our students receive solid math instruction in the early grades to prepare them to take and pass algebra and other challenging courses in middle and high school."

Among the topics to be addressed in the panel's report:

• The skills needed for students to learn algebra and be ready for higher levels of mathematics.

• The appropriate design of systems for delivering math instruction that combine elements of learning, curricula, instruction, teacher training, and standards, assessments and accountability. And,

• Research needs in support of mathematics education.

The National Mathematics Advisory Panel is part of the president's plan to strengthen math education so that America's students receive the tools and skills necessary for success in the 21st century. Included in his fiscal year 2007 budget request is $10 million to carry out the group's recommendations. The spending plan also includes $250 million for the newly proposed Math Now programs.

Modeled after the successful and popular Reading First program, the Math Now for Elementary School Students project would use the recommendations of the National Math Panel to promote scientifically based research and promising practices in mathematics instruction to prepare students for more rigorous coursework in middle and high school.

The program is similar to the current Striving Readers Initiative and would diagnose students' deficiencies in math, providing intensive and systematic instruction to enable them to pass algebra courses.

Secretary Spellings stressed the need for today's high school graduates to have solid math skills -- whether they are proceeding to college or going straight into the workforce.

She and others have pointed out that U.S. students are currently performing below their international peers on math and science assessments. For example, only seven percent of fourth- and eighth-graders achieved the "advanced" level on the 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) test. By contrast, in Singapore, 38 percent of fourth-graders and 44 percent of eighth-graders reached that level.

On the most recent Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), American 15-year-olds performed below the international average in mathematics literacy and problem-solving. And, almost half of American 17-year-olds do not have the basic understanding of math needed to qualify for a production associate's job at a modern auto plant.

In addition, studies have found that students from low-income families who acquire strong math skills by the eighth-grade are 10 times more likely to finish college than peers of the same socioeconomic background who do not.

For a fact sheet on The American Competitiveness Initiative: Encouraging Innovation and for more information on the President's National Mathematics Advisory Panel, please visit: http://www.ed.gov/news/opeds/factsheets/index.html?src=gu

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