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DID YOU KNOW?
+ Research by Richard M. Ingersoll, a Professor of Education and Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, found that in 2000, about 28 percent of science teachers in 7th to 12th grades didn't have a major or minor in science; for math, it was 38 percent.
+ According to The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas, in China, 42 percent of college undergraduates earn science or engineering degrees; in the U.S. only 5 percent of the students do.
+ Physician and geneticist Francis Collins, the former director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, warns that the decline in math and science education has placed our nation in great peril. He charges that the scientific and technological elements upon which America has built the strongest economy in history are eroding just as other nations are emerging. Dr. Collins asserts that, "Prior U.S. investments in science and technology counted for at least half of our economic growth since World War II. Scientific research offers our best hope for discovering new energy sources, making advances in medicine, countering global epidemics and finding solutions to climate change."
+ "On October 4, 1957, history changed with the Soviet Union's successful launch of Sputnik I, the world's first man-made satellite. Americans were alarmed that we had been outpaced technologically and saw the Soviet feat as a threat to our national security.
In order to catch up with the Russians, our nation swung into action and infused new funding and resources into scientific research on a priority basis that resulted in new labs springing up all over the country.
To support this national initiative, schools upgraded and expanded math and science instruction at every level. Congress established scholarships and grants to enable young people to pursue science and engineering majors in college and graduate schools. These efforts paid off as a new generation of American scientists and engineers was produced and the United States became the Mecca for scientific research in virtually all fields.
Now, five decades later, we are again on the verge of falling behind technologically, largely because of a failure to provide world class science and math instruction in our schools...We cannot fail to prepare our children to thrive in a world where science and technology define in many ways how we work, live and entertain ourselves."
-- Marian Wright Edelman, President and Founder, Children's Defense Fund
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 Dear Friends - Momentum continues to build for the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI). We have been encouraged by the significant and rapid results our programs have already achieved, and we look forward to continuing to serve as a catalyst for change in 2009. As we shared in our last e-newsletter, the record enrollment numbers in NMSI-funded programs show that our model is generating interest in math and science education. We are further encouraged by two new, recently issued reports that underscore the effectiveness of our core programs. I invite you to read on to learn more about the reports, as well as recent news regarding two of our distinguished board members, our inaugural video competition and other communications initiatives. Please take a moment to visit our website, www.nationalmathandscience.org, to learn more about our programs. We continue to welcome your comments and suggestions and encourage you to share them with us by e-mailing
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. Tom Luce CEO National Math and Science Initiative |
| NEW COLLEGE BOARD STATS CONFIRM ADVANCED PLACEMENT ON THE UPSWING |
 More American students are now taking and passing AP courses than ever before.
In its annual report on the Advanced Placement program, the College Board reported that the AP program is growing steadily and significantly. This is a noteworthy vote of confidence from schools around the country that the more challenging coursework is effective and necessary.
It was particularly telling that Trevor Packer, vice president of the Advanced Placement program, which is administered by the non-profit College Board, reported to USA Today that a state-by-state assessment suggests that performance improves when state policymakers provide incentives that encourage schools to make AP part of their program.
The new College Board stats confirm our belief at NMSI that providing training and incentives to boost the number of students taking AP math, science and English classes will significantly raise the bar in American education. As more students learn and pass the challenging coursework, our country will be better prepared to compete in today's high-tech, high-stakes global marketplace.
The report also confirmed that we must do more to provide access to AP courses for poor and minority populations, who are still under-represented in advanced classes. For America to succeed, more students, regardless of their family income or background, must have access to the knowledge that is essential in the 21st Century. The NMSI Advanced Placement Training and Incentives Program (APTIP) addresses this issue head on. In our 67 program schools, AP enrollment for low-income students has increased 92 percent and AP enrollment for minorities has increased 122 percent.
We were proud to see several of the states participating in our APTIP singled out for achievement.
+ Virginia ranked third in "Percentage of Students Scoring 3 or Higher on an AP exam during High School" at 21.3 percent, Connecticut ranked fourth at 21.0 percent, while Massachusetts ranked fifth at 20.8 percent. The national average was 15.2 percent.
+ Arkansas ranked fourth in "States with the Greatest Expansion of AP Scores of 3+ since 2003" with a 5.1 percent change.
+ While no state in the United States has closed the equity and excellence gap for African-American students, Alabama has seen the largest increase in the percentage of successful African-American students enrolled in AP programs. Currently, 7.1 percent of the successful student population in Alabama is African-American, up from 4.5 percent in the class of 2003.
+ Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky and Virginia eliminated the equity and excellence gap in students scoring 3 or higher for Hispanic or Latino students. Arkansas, Kentucky, and Virginia also eliminated this gap for American Indian or Alaska Native students.
We expect even greater indications of success in next year's report, when the first results of AP students who are enrolled in the APTIP that are funded by NMSI will be included in the tabulations. In the meantime, we can all celebrate this new affirmation that the AP program is preparing more American students for college-level work.
Here are some of the highlights from the AP Report to the Nation.
"The 5th Annual AP Report to the Nation" uses a combination of state, national and AP Program data to provide each U.S. state with the context it can use to celebrate its successes, understand its unique challenges and set meaningful, data-driven goals to prepare more students for success in college.
Across the nation, educators and policymakers are helping a wider segment of the U.S. student population experience success in AP:
+ 15.2 percent of the public school graduating class of 2008 had access to an AP experience that resulted in a score of 3 or higher - the score research shows to be indicative of students learning at levels that increase the likelihood of success in college. This achievement represents a significant and consistent improvement since the class of 2003, when 12.2 percent of graduates experienced success in AP. Eighteen states equaled or exceeded the national percentage of 15.2 percent. Increasing numbers of African-American, Latino and American Indian students are participating in AP, but these students remain underrepresented in AP.
+ Hispanic or Latino students represent 15.4 percent of the public school graduating class of 2008 and 14.8 percent of the AP examinee population (compared to 14.7 percent and 14.0 percent, respectively, in 2007).
+ Black or African-American students represent 14.4 percent of the public school graduating class of 2008 and 7.8 percent of the AP examinee population (compared to 14.3 percent and 7.3 percent, respectively, in 2007).
+ American Indian or Alaska Native students represent 1.1 percent of the public school graduating class of 2008 and 0.6 percent of the AP examinee population.
More low-income students are participating and experiencing success in AP than ever before:
+ 17.0 percent of AP examinees from the graduating class of 2008 were low-income students, up from 16.2 percent in the class of 2007 and 11.6 percent in the class of 2003.
+ Low-income students made up 13.4 percent of the students experiencing success in AP from the graduating class of 2008, compared to 13.1 percent from the class of 2007 and 9.8 percent from the class of 2003.
Experience has shown that students that take and pass an AP exam are three times more likely to earn a college degree. African-American AP students are four times more likely.
Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board, pointed out that the program is particularly helpful to make college more affordable during these challenging economic times. As he put it, "In these times of economic distress, as family budgets are squeezed and financial aid resources are spread thin, rigorous courses like AP that prepare students for the demands of college and foster an increased likelihood of on-time graduation can be a very valuable resource for families."
With a minority of students graduating from college in four years, AP credits can cut college costs by bolstering on-time graduation. For an out-of-state student at a public four-year university, the extra cost of taking six years to complete an undergraduate degree averages more than $58,000, the College Board said, while even five years for an in-state student costs an extra $18,000.
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| AP ACHIEVEMENT GAP NARROWS IN ALABAMA |
There is encouraging news to share regarding students enrolled in Advanced Placement programs in Alabama. A recent article in The Birmingham News reports that the achievement gap between students of different ethnic backgrounds enrolled in AP programs is narrowing and the performance of students overall is steadily improving.
Gloria Turner, director of the Alabama Department of Education's student assessment program, credited aggressive advocacy of AP classes by the state, which is expanding distance-learning programs in part to make AP classes available to more students. The AP programs mentioned in the story are funded in large part by a NMSI grant.
Click here to read the entire article.
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FORMER NMSI BOARD MEMBER STEVEN CHU APPOINTED ENERGY SECRETARY
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 In late January, former NMSI Board Member Steven Chu was sworn in as Secretary of Energy in President Obama's administration. In this prestigious role, Dr. Chu will be responsible for leading the Department of Energy and its programs and initiatives. Dr. Chu, a renowned scholar, was the recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics. Previously, he was a professor of physics and molecular and cellular biology at the University of California, Berkeley and the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Chu as he begins this new endeavor.
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NMSI BOARD MEMBER CHARLES M. VEST SPEAKS TO PACKED CROWD AT WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL EVENT
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 Last November, NMSI Board Member Charles Vest served as the featured speaker at the World Affairs Council meeting in Dallas. Dr. Vest shared a sobering look at the crisis in innovation and global competitiveness that the U.S. is facing as a result of a decline in math and science education.
"Globalization is our new reality," he noted. The U.S. used to be a powerhouse in research, which Vest considers the knowledge that fuels the economy. However, the U.S. is quickly losing ground to other countries, based on a number of different metrics: the nation is now 22nd in non-defense research and development; the number of new science and engineering PhDs awarded in the U.S. dropped 30 percent between 1986 and 2003; and, less than five percent of college undergraduates get degrees in engineering as compared with 20 percent of students in Asia and 12 percent in Europe.
To stem this tide, Vest noted the urgency of increasing the number of qualified math and science teachers in our schools, increasing investment in basic research, awarding incentives for innovation and establishing a vision of America leading and being secure through knowledge and innovation.
Dr. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering and vice chair of the National Research Council, the principal operating arm of the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering. He is also president emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a past and present member of many government task forces and advisory committees that have helped shape national and international policies on research, science, education, and national security.
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TOM LUCE APPOINTED TO NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL EDUCATION COMMITTEE
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Tom Luce, CEO of NMSI and former Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, has been appointed to the position of Co-Chair of the Roundtable on Education Systems and Accountability (RESA).
RESA was created in anticipation of the next reauthorization of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act and is designed to bring together federal and state officials, education policymakers, constituency representatives and education researchers for discussion on important issues surrounding education accountability. Mr. Luce's co-chair is Teachers College President Susan H. Fuhrman.
A central focus of the roundtable will be the evolution of the federal role in K-12 education, with particular attention to key education policy issues that are like to have impact on the national, state and local levels both during and following the reauthorization of ESEA. These will likely include higher standards to prepare high school graduates for college or work; the effect of standards-based reform on classroom instruction; and incentives to improve school quality and achievement. RESA will also work to identify where federal and state accountability systems should be heading and potential challenges to implementation.
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NMSI WRAPS UP INAUGURAL STUDENT VIDEO COMPETITION
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 That's a wrap! NMSI's inaugural FILMS Competition (Fun Is Learning Math and Science) has concluded, with 20 outstanding entries received from high school students in NMSI-funded Advanced Placement programs across the nation.
NMSI recently announced the winning videos and high schools from each participating state:
Alabama
1. Math Story - LAMP
2. Bonding Gone Too Far - Booker T. Washington
3. Drinking and Deriving - Hueytown
Arkansas
1. Trapezoidal Sum - Springdale
2. Impulse Momentum - Greenbrier
3. AP Science Film - Greene County Tech
Connecticut
1. AP Scholarship Story (Animal/Human Behavior) - Coventry
2. Calculus: Introducing the Jerk - New Britain
Kentucky
1. The Chronicles of Algebra - Shelby
2. TI-NSPIRE Boy - Anderson
Massachusetts
1. Math and Science are F=µN! - Northampton
2. AP Contest for Central - Springfield Central
Virginia
1. Crank Dat Calculus - Franklin
2. AP Biology is the Best - Deep Run
The first, second and third place winners in each state all will receive cash scholarships from NMSI, as well as advanced graphing calculators from Texas Instruments. NMSI will announce the top national winner out of the six finalists later this spring.
Supported by DreamWorks Animation, Exxon Mobil Corporation and Texas Instruments, the contest was designed to engage high school students in promoting math and science education to their peers throughout the country.
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NMSI COMPLETES SEVERAL PUBLICATIONS
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 NMSI's communications team has been hard at work this winter producing an array of marketing materials that help tell the story of NMSI's programs and successes.
+ NMSI's first Annual Report was published in late 2008. The comprehensive report details the organization's major achievements since its inception in 2007. + A Parent's Guide was developed to highlight ways in which parents can become engaged in their child's education and incorporate math and science activities into everyday life to encourage and promote these critical skills. This guide is available in both English and Spanish. + The newest publication, a Competitiveness Brochure, was completed in early February. The brochure discusses our nation's declining competitiveness in a global marketplace and details immediate action items to address this growing crisis. Printable copies of these materials are available by visiting www.nationalmathandscience.org. We encourage you to use these resources and share them with your friends and colleagues. |
March 2, 2009 - NMSI notifies national winners of FILMS Competition
March 18-19, 2009 - NMSI Legislative Update, National Academies, Washington, D.C. May 27-29, 2009 - UTeach Conference, Austin, Texas ( www.meetattexas.com)
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AP TRAINING AND INCENTIVE PROGRAM GRANTEES
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Alabama
A+ College Ready
Arkansas
Arkansas Advanced Initiative for Math and Science
Connecticut
Project Opening Doors
Kentucky
Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation
Massachusetts
Mass Insight Education
Virginia
Virginia Advanced Studies Strategies
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Arizona
Northern Arizona University
California
University of California at Berkeley
University of California at Irvine
Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder
Florida
Florida State University
University of Florida
Kansas
University of Kansas
Kentucky
Western Kentucky University
Louisiana
Louisiana State University
Pennsylvania
Temple University
Texas
University of Houston
University of North Texas
University of Texas at Dallas
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To advance math and science education in the United States by expanding programs with proven results on a national scale in order to have a positive impact on America's 50 million student public school system.
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AP and Advanced Placement Program are registered trademarks of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.
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