[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 10 (Monday, March 10, 1997)]
[Pages 299-300]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Memorandum on Educational Excellence in Math and Science

March 6, 1997

Memorandum for the Secretary of Education, the Director of the National 
Science Foundation

Subject: Preparing Students to Meet National Standards of Excellence in 
Eighth Grade Math and Improving Math and Science Education

    Since the early 1980s, U.S. elementary and secondary school students 
have begun taking tougher courses, and we are starting to see the 
results. National Assessment of Educational Progress scores have 
improved in math and science, with gains in mathematics equal to at 
least one grade level. On the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), average 
math scores are at their highest in 25 years, even as the number and 
diversity of test-takers have increased. However, the eighth-grade 
results of the 41-Nation Third International Math and Science Study 
(TIMSS), released last fall, show that the United States is below 
average in math and just above average in science. That isn't 
acceptable; in this technology-rich information era, our students need 
to perform much better in both subjects, but especially in math, if they 
are to excel at higher-level math and science courses that are critical 
to college admission and success and to citizenship, productive 
employment, and lifelong learning.
    The first step in raising achievement is lifting expectations and 
setting high standards for what students should know and be able to do. 
Our National Assessment of Educational Progress, TIMSS, and the 
standards developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics 
give us a solid framework to build on. Last month, to help parents and 
teachers learn who needs help, what changes in teaching to make, and 
which schools need to improve, I asked the Secretary of Education to 
develop a voluntary national test for individual eighth-grade students 
based on widely accepted, challenging national standards in mathematics. 
The national test will be available to States and local school districts 
to give to their students in the spring of 1999, and will measure 
whether students have reached a high level of mathematics proficiency.
    The primary responsibility for achieving high standards rests with 
students, teachers, parents, and schools in local communities across 
America. However, it is imperative that we work to ensure that Federal 
resources support student success as well. We must ensure that Federal 
programs, research, and human resources are used as effectively as 
possible to help improve teaching and learning.
    Therefore, I direct the Secretary of Education and the Director of 
the National Science Foundation to form an interagency working group and 
to develop an action strategy for using Federal resources to assist 
States and local school systems to prepare students to meet challenging 
math standards in eighth grade, and for involving the mathematics, 
scientific, and technical communities in support of these efforts.
    The action strategy should include recommendations for the use of 
Federal resources to help States, local school districts, and schools to 
improve teaching, upgrade

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curriculum, and integrate technology and high-quality instructional 
materials into the classroom, as well as motivate students and help them 
understand how math concepts are applied in the real world. The strategy 
should identify significant Federal programs, activities, and 
partnerships available to improve teaching and learning, ensure that 
these resources are appropriately focused on helping students reach 
challenging math standards, and determine how these resources can best 
support State and local reforms. In developing this strategy, the 
interagency group should review the current status of improvements in 
math education and identify and address critical areas of need, drawing 
on research and input from educators and professional organizations.
    Because teaching and learning in math and science are so integrally 
related, and because success in both subjects is vitally important in 
this information era, the working group should also review how Federal 
resources and partnerships with other organizations can help improve 
student achievement in science.
    The working group should make its recommendations and submit its 
action strategy to me within 90 days.
                                            William J. Clinton