BODY: Overhauling the way science and math are taught in the nation's schools
and making American students competitive with those from other countries are the
goals of a $35 million initiative that the University of Wisconsin-Madison is to
lead.
The National Science Foundation made the grant,
one of the largest the university has ever received and one of the largest the
foundation has ever awarded for this purpose.
More than
80 faculty and staff members from all areas of the university will be involved
in the project, UW said Wednesday. The project is to include elementary, middle
and high schools in the Madison Metropolitan School District and schools in Los
Angeles, Denver and Providence, R.I.
The University of
Pittsburgh is to work with UW on the five-year project.
"Children in the U.S. today arenot receiving the rigorous science and
math education they need to become scientifically and mathematically literate
adults," said Terrence Millar, a UW math professor and associate Graduate School
dean who is to lead the effort.
Studies show that
children in the United States lag those in other industrialized nations badly
when it comes to science and math.
"Not only aren't we
near the top, but we're real near the bottom," Millar said.
"It's critical that people have a much better fundamental understanding
of math and science. This is important for the economic survival of our country.
Our business and industries, the ones that are profitable, are moving to very
high-technology, modern strategies. We can't have a work force that doesn't
understand the underpinnings."
Basic geometry and
understanding measurement are areas in which U.S. students do worst, said Andrew
Porter, director of the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, the part of the
university in which the initiative is to be based.
"Students fall further behind with each increasing grade. They start
out OK in the early grades like fourth, but by the time they're in high school,
the U.S. is behind most other countries," Porter said.
"We're going to bring top-notch mathematicians and scientists to the
table with school leaders and education researchers and create a whole new
curriculum that will make us competitive."
The need for
improvement is clear.
Statewide in the spring, fewer
than half of 10th-graders had scores on the state's standardized tests that were
rated as showing they were proficient or better in math or science. Forty-four
percent were rated as at least proficient in math and 46% in science.
Math and science have been the two weakest areas for
students throughout Wisconsin for years.
In the Madison
district, 43% of sophomores had scores that were rated as showing they were
proficient or better in math. For science, the figure was 46%.
Among Milwaukee Public Schools sophomores, only 11% were considered
proficient or better in math and 13% in science.
The
new project is called SCALE -- System-wide Change for All Learners and Educators
-- and is part of President Bush's "Leave No Child Behind -- Math
and Science Partnership Program" at the foundation. The grant to UW is the
largest of seven grants chosen from more than 200 proposals.
"It's no accident that Washington consistently turns to Wisconsin for
leadership in this very important effort to ensure that our children are
literate in math and science," UW Chancellor John Wiley said in a statement. "We
have a track record that's second to none. This award gives us an opportunity to
make a difference."
Ideas are to be tested in the four
school districts and ultimately nationwide, it's hoped.
Project steps include:
-- Implementing the
best current math and science programs throughout the educational system.
-- Creating proven science and math immersion projects.
-- Improving teacher education.
-- Creating mentoring and guidance counseling experiences for middle
and high school students, especially girls, women and minorities.
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Alan J. Borsuk of
the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.
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