Our kids need better math!

This is what the National Mathematics Advisory Panel appointed by President Bush two years ago found.

Panel Urges Schools to Emphasize Core Math Skills
A presidential panel declared math education in the United States “broken” yesterday and called on schools to focus on ensuring that children master fundamental skills that provide the underpinnings for success in higher math and, ultimately, in high-tech jobs.
Read the full Washington Post article.

Report Urges Changes in Teaching Math
American students’ math achievement is “at a mediocre level” compared with that of their peers worldwide, according to a new report by a federal panel, which recommended that schools focus on key skills that prepare students to learn algebra.
Read the full New York Times article.

Fixate on Fractions, Says Math Panel
by Nancy Zuckerbrod, AP Education Writer
WASHINGTON — Schools could improve students’ sluggish math scores by hammering home the basics, such as addition and multiplication, and increasing the focus on fractions and some geometry, a presidential panel recommended Thursday.
Read the full article.

U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings Highlights Findings of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel
Spellings Stresses Importance of Effort, Algebra and Early Math Education
Read the Press release

National Mathematics Advisory Panel:
Website and reports