Related Resources Mathematics and Science Initiative

Good morning. I want to thank all our speakers today for your insights. It is clear from your presentations that we have much work to do.

I spoke of the Columbia crew earlier this morning, and in many ways, this tragedy gives greater urgency to the challenge before us today:

Too many of America's young people are not literate in mathematics and science. Too many are graduating from high schools without the skills or the knowledge to take their place in the fields of mathematics, engineering, and science—all critical to maintaining America's leadership in the world.

If we are to reverse this trend—as we clearly must—then we have to do a better job of helping our young people learn these critical subjects. And the place to start is with a more rigorous curriculum and high quality instructors.

Not since the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957, has our federal government spearheaded a major initiative promoting mathematics and science education. It proved what America can accomplish when we are focused on a goal.

Within 12 years of Sputnik, America had upgraded its mathematics and science education program, launched satellites, watched our own astronauts orbit the Earth, and stared at our television screens in wonder as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin bounced in the gentle gravity of the moon.

"Magnificent desolation," is what Aldrin called the moon.

Since that heady time of exploration, federal attention to mathematics and science education has waned, particularly where elementary and secondary education are concerned. A snapshot of high school seniors provides an idea of how much ground we've lost:

• 83 percent of 12th graders are not proficient in mathematics.
• 82 percent of 12th graders are not proficient in science.

It is undisputed that American 12th graders lag far behind their European and Asian counterparts in mathematics, science, and technology.

When high school seniors took the 2002 NAEP for mathematics, 63 percent could NOT figure out how much postage was needed for a package of a given weight—simple multiplication.

And 88 percent could NOT calculate the interest they would earn on their savings account. Even with the help of a calculator, they couldn't answer these simple questions.

Clearly, this poses problems for these young people in their daily lives.

But a major report by the Hart-Rudman Commission suggests that our lost ground in mathematics and science also poses a national security risk "of the first order."

The report—titled Road Map for National Security: Imperative for Change—was issued by the bipartisan U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century—that was co-chaired by Warren Rudman and Gary Hart;

Among their many observations was this one:

"Second only to a weapon of mass destruction detonating in an American city, we can think of nothing more dangerous than a failure to manage properly science, technology, and education for the common good over the next quarter century."

This statement has more meaning today than when it was written in February of 2001.

Right now, our President is pondering the possibility of war. I have known this man a long time. And I can tell you that the thought of sending someone's son or daughter into battle weighs heavily on him. War is not a matter this man takes lightly.

He is peaceful leader who is facing down a hateful dictator.

So whatever the President's decision, I can assure you that it will be the right one. The just one.

But we as a nation need to be ready at all times. In all ways.

In this uncertain world, it is paramount that America graduate greater numbers of young people who are strong in mathematics and science. Our future depends on them to lead the way in developing strategies and technologies that will keep us safe and prosperous for generations to come.

And our concern is not limited just to mathematics and science.

Over the past 30 years, America has spent trillions of local, state, and federal tax dollars on education. Public spending per student increased 90 percent. Yet test scores remained flat.

President Bush said: This is unacceptable. The strength of a nation depends on a well-prepared workforce.

He rallied a bipartisan consensus in Congress to pass the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. And this time last year, our nation embarked on an historic journey—a journey that embraced the President's hopeful vision that says: Education is a civil right. Just as much a civil right as the right to vote or to be treated equally. And it's the duty—not a suggestion, but a duty—of our nation to teach every child well, not just some of them.

No Child Left Behind rests on four pillars:

• accountability
• local control
• options for parents, and
• evidence-based instruction that works

Last month we celebrated a year of progress, and just last Friday, we reached another milestone that is unprecedented in the history of education in America: Every single state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, met the deadline of submitting its accountability plans to the Department. We are well on our way to implementing one of the cornerstones of our new law: insisting that schools show progress in student achievement.

Never before has our entire nation come together in such a spirit of cooperation to work toward the single goal of making sure that every school teaches every child well. All the states are to be commended.

This week held more good news for education. Despite all the things competing for our tax dollars—protecting our homeland, fighting terrorism, and recovering from recession —the President's 2004 budget provides $53.1 billion for education—the largest dollar increase of any domestic agency.

President Bush has said he wants every public school in America to be a place of high expectations and a place of high achievement.

As I said earlier, ours is a profoundly complex and changing world. And instruction must keep up in order for America to remain the world leader in science and innovative technology.

I am pleased to announce a major new Mathematics and Science initiative that will help us achieve that goal in three ways:

ONE: We will highlight the importance of mathematics and science education and encourage more students to pursue these studies.

Students need to learn more mathematics and science than is currently required. And more students need to study advanced scientific and technical subjects.

Parents need to know what children should be studying to prepare them for success in a world that requires the ability to understand and apply knowledge of mathematics and science.

And the public needs to know that advances in technology and productivity, necessary for the U.S. to remain competitive in the global economy, depend on the success of this initiative.

We will rally educators, the business community and professional organizations to help us educate the public about the seriousness of this issue and help develop a plan to address it.

TWO: We will increase the number of science and mathematics teachers in America's schools who are trained well in the subjects they are teaching.

Research confirms that the most effective teachers are those who really know the subject they're teaching. Yet today in America, more than half of the middle school mathematics teachers and nearly half of the science teachers did not major or minor in the field they're teaching.

That may help explain national report cards that show overall student achievement in mathematics and science starting out strong in 4th grade, leveling out in middle school, and plummeting in 12th grade.

To help schools attract the best and the brightest mathematics and science teachers to our nation's classrooms, President Bush's 2004 budget calls on Congress to:

• Provide $200 million to the National Science Foundation to fund teacher development and local partnerships between school districts and universities
• Fund a $1 billion increase in Title I funds—to $12.4 billion, which can be used for mathematics and science education
• Provide $12.5 million for the Department and more from NSF to restart a modernized version of the popular Teacher Institutes of the 1950s and 60s
• Maintain $2.85 billion in Title 2 to train and recruit teachers, especially in mathematics and science
• Provide tax relief to help teachers defray expenses
• Expand loan forgiveness to $17,500 for those who teach mathematics, science and special education in high need schools

Since he took office, President Bush has provided the largest and most comprehensive federal investment in preparation, training and recruiting teachers and principals—and we must give our mathematics and science teachers better tools to teach.

Which leads me to the third and final aim of this initiative:

We must develop strong research about how children learn mathematics and science and use it to strengthen classroom instruction.

We know what it takes to teach a child to read, because a growing body of research tells us. One of the major pillars of No Child Left Behind is evidence-based instruction that works. And we have seen that schools that teach reading based upon what works have seen improved reading scores.

We want to do the same for science and mathematics. So the Department is working to develop a major academic research base to help us understand what helps children learn these critical skills, so teachers can then use it in the classroom.

Therefore the President has provided over $120 million to assist in our goal of creating a research base for mathematics and science education.

These are tough problems. But they are not insurmountable problems. Today's meeting is just the first step.

Now we move on to the second step.

On March 13th, we will gather again to continue the process of implementing the goals of this Initiative. I have designated a team at the Department of Education—led by Dr. Susan Sclafani—to focus solely on this. And we need the best minds helping us as we develop the action plan to achieve our three goals.

I urge you to fill out the form in your packets or contact Susan or any member of our team directly. The President and I want your help.

So I thank each of you for coming to this summit. I welcome your thoughts and ideas. And I look forward to working with you in the months ahead as we work to make our nation's schools places of high expectations and places of high achievement.

Thank you.

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