As concern mounts that U.S. students lack sufficient understanding of science and related fields, it has become increasingly clear that schools can't tackle the challenge alone. This special report explores the field often called "informal science education," which is gaining broader recognition for its role in helping young people…

Thirteen years ago, Minnesota was a state with no academic standards in mathematics and science and what some observers said was a mixed record in grounding students in crucial academic content, such as number skills and algebra. Since then, the state has set clear guidelines for schools in both subjects, and it also appears to have tuned up what…

This article reports on the findings of a recent study that examines one of the most enduring debates in science instruction--whether "depth" or "breadth" of knowledge is most important. Its authors come down on the side of depth. The study found that high school students who focus more intensely on core topics within their…

Almost every time the results of an international test of student achievement are released to the world, the reaction among the American public and policymakers is like that of a parent whose child just brought home a disappointing report card. Elected officials and academic experts question where U.S. students fell short: Was it their curriculum,…

This article talks about UTeach, a teacher-preparation program at the University of Texas at Austin that presents courses through the lens of math and science. The program has drawn widespread recognition in recent years, and it is now a model for revamping the training of math and science teachers on campuses nationwide. Backers of the program…

Fifty years ago, with the Soviet Union's launch of the Sputnik satellite, millions of Americans found themselves peering anxiously into the night sky--and also looking inward, as they reconsidered previously cozy assumptions about their nation's technological and educational superiority. The 184-pound, unmanned aluminum beacon lasted just three…

On an overcast Sunday afternoon April 2005, a crowd of teenagers and their families file through the front gates of Great America theme park, located along a boulevard in the polished suburban circuitry of Silicon Valley. Emerging briskly from this migration of bodies onto the steps of the park auditorium, flanked by his mother and father, is a…

Improving K-12 instruction and student achievement in mathematics and science is at the heart of separate bills intended to bolster America's economic standing that won overwhelming approval in both houses of Congress last week. The House on April 24 approved the 10,000 Teachers, 10 Million Minds Science and Math Scholarship Act by a vote of…

Not only did many industrialized countries outperform the United States in science on a recent international exam, but American students' academic achievement was also more likely to be affected by their wealth or poverty and family background than was their peers' in higher-scoring nations. That was one of several sobering findings for the United…

This article focuses on the specialized academies in math and science, aimed at serving students for whom even a rigorous high school lineup of college-preparatory and honors courses is not enough. Math and science academies have been a fixture in states and school districts for decades, but they are drawing renewed interest as educators and…

American officials lament U.S. students' mediocre skills in math and science, and warn that China, with its firm academic emphasis on those subjects and its enormous student population, stands to reap economic rewards from American complacency. They suggest reforming math and science education in the U.S. to more closely resemble the systems…