Mr. Secretary, members of the commission, and ladies and gentlemen, last July on the very appropriate date of the 30th anniversary of the first moon landing, Secretary Riley convened this commission, and he asked us to investigate and report on the quality of mathematics and science teaching, specifically on teaching in the nation, and directed us to consider ways of improving recruitment, preparation, retention, and professional growth for mathematics and science teachers in kindergarten through 12 classrooms nationwide. He also reminded us that three decades after an historic achievement, in his words, that we need to set the stage for advancement in mathematics and science for the next 30 years.

Mr. Secretary, we've done what you asked us, and what we have learned and what we believe must now be done are summarized in our report titled "Before It's Too Late" which we're presenting to you today. And if you detect a note of urgency in that title, then our basic message to you and to the American people is already clear. Because what we found out in more than a year of study and listening to experts and debate among ourselves turned out to be very disturbing. Your concerns were and are well founded.

We provide just a couple of illustrations from the report. The Third International Mathematics and Science Study -- TIMSS, as it's come to be known in educational circles -- shows that among students from 41 nations, our American fourth-grade children are among the leaders, the top two or three countries in the world. By the time American students graduated from high school, they were almost last. They are about two or three from the bottom in that list of nations. In other words, our kids are losing ground in mathematics and science compared -- now that's compared. It doesn't mean that our scores have not been moving up. I think we should point that out. Our kids haven't been doing worse and worse and worse compared to our own people within our own borders here, but compared to other nations around the world, and the emphasis that these other nations are placing on math and science, compared to them, our youngsters are going downhill. And so those are the people with whom we're competing economically and technologically.

Also here at home the National Assessment for Education Progress, NAEP, points in the same direction. In 1996, more than a third of U.S. students scored below basic, which means they lacked even partial mastery of the knowledge and skills needed to score at the proficient level, let alone advanced level. Based on the commission's findings, we have branded this performance just plain unacceptable.

But our goal was not simply to diagnose the problems. It was to prescribe specific actions to correct these problems also. Make no mistake, there's a divide that now exists between our schools, mathematics and science education, and the rest of the world, and the gap must be closed, and we with some effort can do it, and I emphasize that. This is not something we should just wring our hands over because it's doable, we can do this. And so that's the message or one of the messages that I want to bring today, that we very much can do this if we want to do it.

But why is math and science so important for our young people? Well, take a look at the rest of the world. Our world is the world of a global marketplace now. It's where science and mathematics, technology, and innovation are calling the shots, and that's something that we've got to remember. Globalization has occurred. It's no longer a futuristic theory; it's here. All you have to do is turn on your morning TV and you see the Wall Street quotes, you see the Hang Seng index, the Nikkei average, the Frankfurt and Zurich quotes, the euro-dollar quotes, right on around the world, indicating that hundreds of billions of dollars are flowing around the world in either overnight money or weekly money, monthly money, looking for places to invest, to create those good, high-paying jobs of the future.

Now, there's another reason, too, why I don't want to see us ever get behind in this area of science and technology. The military security of the United States will depend on math and science, and that's an area in which we can never settle for being anything but the very best in the whole world. And our standard of living depends on jobs, of course, on the jobs that I've mentioned a moment ago, but it will also improve with medical advances, with a cure for cancer one of these days, with new pharmaceuticals, transportation, autos, airplanes, new engines, safety, environmental concerns, and so much more -- all dependent on the mastery of math and science. No American worker can contribute nor can our nation be competitive and militarily secure, nor make great advances for the future without the knowledge and skills that a thorough grounding in mathematics and science provides.

But as our report states, at one point, and I quote, "Among the scarier statistics reported by one American think tank, 60 percent of all new jobs in the 21st century will require skills that are possessed by only 20 percent of the current work force." That's a rather frightening quote. So these figures compel me to upgrade our previous word of "unacceptable" perhaps to a stronger word of "dangerous," and I think we must address the problem forcefully and persistently.

Now, study after study has shown teacher quality to be the key -- teacher quality to be the key. Good teachers, good students. Poor teachers, poor student performance. It comes down to that as a summary of our findings. Now, I don't want to degrade or decry the great, great teachers that are out there now and doing such a wonderful job because there are many great teachers in our schools, doing a superb job of teaching and motivating students to superior performance. But, unfortunately, too many are not in that category. Too many new teachers, for instance, are just unqualified, hired with little or no background for the job. And too many new teachers also supposedly qualified actually have insufficient content knowledge and method for math and science instruction. Many teachers in existence right now that are out there teaching have limited skills that haven't been upgraded for a number of years.

And most disturbing to me, and I think to the commission also, too many of our qualified teachers, the best, those we depend on, are leaving the profession. Let me give a couple of illustrative facts here. One-fourth of our math and science teachers are teaching out of field, and by that we mean never had a major or a minor in the subject they are teaching in their own collegiate years. Never had a major or minor in math or science during their own scholastic training. In other words, they're just filling the gap. And 30 percent of our new teachers leave within three years. And for those who stay with teaching, there usually is little opportunity to really upgrade, and we address that in our report.

The commission's basic conclusion, then, Mr. Secretary is that we must tackle the problem directly, and in that regard we offer a three-goal strategy.

First, we have to improve the quality of math and science education now, right in our schools, right now by radically and systematically improving the professional development of teachers. This is true not only for existing teachers but for those entering the field. Pre-service, professional development must start before a new teacher walks through the door.

Secondly, we must significantly increase the quantity or number of teachers that this nation puts into the nation's mathematics and science classrooms -- significantly improve their preparation and do it quickly. Let's not forget qualified mid-career professionals, also, people who want to change professions or people with college degrees coming out of the military after having served 20 years who are in mid career and can be trained to take over in this particular area. So let's not forget the mid-career professionals with an interest in teaching math and science. They're a wonderful resource.

Third, we have to improve the working environment for teachers and make the teaching profession much more attractive for all K-12 mathematics and science teachers. Incentives for retention are key, especially because of America's tight job market right now. At that point we have more than a little bit to say about what teachers are paid. And in this country in light of what we as a nation ask them to do, I believe the word that we use in the report, Mr. Secretary, is "scandalous." It does appear in that section of the report.

For each of these goals we've provided a list of concrete action steps that we believe can and should be taken to turn mathematics and science teaching around in America, and I repeat, we're optimistic we can do this. I don't want this report to be looked at as doom and gloom and discourage people. These are things that are all very, very doable. And I'll highlight just a few examples of new and tangible initiatives we can offer current teachers as well as new hires or people considering teaching as an occupation.

It would have math and science teaching academies, and before that word "academies" scares anyone, let me add that that's not new brick-and-mortar buildings that we're talking about. Academies are academies that will be formed within existing institutions, institutions of higher education or perhaps some others or universities or whatever. But we're not proposing putting a lot of money into great new structures out there when we talk about academies. We recommend that under those academies a fellowship program be created to provide a one-year preparation program for those talented mid-career professionals that I mentioned a moment ago. Our teaching academies would produce a new crop of well-versed teachers not currently in the math and science pipeline.

Two under this would be summer institutes. We must offer an opportunity for both new and existing teachers to hone their skills and improve their knowledge in a concentrated session. Ongoing professional development is critical in any field, but especially relevant for the professionals who are charged with the training and development of America's future -- our children. With the summer institute we're proposing inquiry groups, those self-generating peer groups that can share information back and forth and will redefine the learning curve of math and science teachers by generating continual, new knowledge. It will also create an outlet for learning opportunities, both locally and beyond its own dedicated Internet portal. The Internet portal, of course, is that new information flow of the future that is going to just revolutionize a lot of things, has already revolutionized so many things, and will do the same in education over a period of time.

Third, reward and recognition program. Thirty-two thousand teachers, math and science teachers, leave the profession every year. That's about 11 percent of the total. They leave every year. Now, most cite dissatisfaction and discouragement as the primary reasons. Dissatisfaction over low pay and a lack of respect have no place in America's classrooms. Let's raise salaries and accountability right along with it, accountability proportionally, and provide clear incentives for outstanding performance. And let's reward an entire school when it demonstrates higher student achievement in math and science.

Number four, a loan forgiveness program. Let's give people interested in teaching math or science an incentive to become teachers. Making 6,000 college loans available immediately will bring new students into the teaching pipeline as well as persuade some of those who are already in it to actually take teaching jobs upon graduation, as many do not. The assurance of loan forgiveness is a powerful incentive. And the number of new loans each year can be adjusted to fit the demand for math and science teachers. You know, the GI Bill changed a nation, and I think this, the proposals we make here, can do the same thing.

Mr. Secretary, to make a more practical guide than most educational reports, we have included a starting checklist for the major educational stakeholders, and these are just some of the action steps we're proposing, Mr. Secretary. Because I do want you to read the whole report and not just the executive summary, I'll leave the rest for you, but we're very quick to point out those action steps will not be easy to achieve. There's a job there for everyone, from parents and students to teachers, superintendents, school boards, to legislators, governors, to the federal government, to business and industry.

And I personally want to point out one that the commission heard me talk about a lot during our meetings, but I personally feel that we must emphasize the role of the school boards. I don't think most Americans realize the uniqueness of our K-12 educational system in comparison with the rest of the world, our competitors. Other nations of the world, our competitors, all have nationally operated school systems and educational programs operated nationally that can change policies and programs far more easily than our diverse, nearly 16,000 school boards, K-12 independently elected, all too many of them promising a lot of things for local political reasons, whatever. And that compares then, our system, K-12, with national systems in other countries that are controlled nationally, the policies are set nationally, the goals are set nationally, and they can change direction far more readily than trying to influence some 16,000 independent school boards. But those boards, properly motivated, can be the most immediate and effective engines for math and science technology change. They are in charge, but they need the help of all the other players.

Also, Mr. Secretary, the Disney Learning Partnership is gifting the commission a videotape highlighting the recommendations of the report, and we want this to be widely disseminated, particularly to those school board members. And we hope we can contact -- I have as a goal trying to contact every one of those school board members across this country, not just the board, the 16,000, but have direct contact through mail and through these videos with those individual board members.

We're perhaps most clear, Mr. Secretary, that unless we begin our pursuit of these goals today, this nation may arrive on tomorrow's doorstep a day late and a dollar short. So we believe our report is aptly titled. We have to begin now, as the title says, before it's too late. The 21st century and our children demand no less.

And we want to commend you, Mr. Secretary, for setting a fast pace by convening this commission now, not putting it off. I know you're optimistic that we can do this, Mr. Secretary, and the commission is optimistic that we can, and we just hope everyone adopts that same can-do attitude. If we do that, then this report will have been very much worthwhile.

This commission was nonpartisan. We didn't go at our job with a view of making it a policy that would come out one way or the other. In fact, when the commission started its meetings, we didn't even know who the candidates were going to be, I guess, back at that time. So this was an issue we went at as a nonpartisan issue on behalf of all of America's children. That's the important thing.

So profound thanks to the members of this commission for their service, both to the nation's children and to our country. They have worked long and hard, and every American has every reason to be proud of what this commission has accomplished on their behalf. So I also want to thank all those who took time to come and talk to us and who wrote reports about their own research for us to consider. Their input has been invaluable to our process.

And finally, I want to thank the members of the staff who have been so ably led by the staff director of the commission, Dr. Linda Rosen. I told her this morning I didn't think she needed any hobbies to keep her busy here for a little while. Keeping a 25-member commission on task, all of whom have very strong opinions, was no easy job, but they have done it magnificently. Linda has been the one that really kept us on track all the way through and has run the staff and had done all the work of getting this report out. And while we stand up here today and take a lot of credit for these things, it was Linda that did the bulk of the work on it.

So, with those remarks, I would like to, Mr. Secretary, introduce you. Secretary Dick Riley, I think, has been an outstanding Secretary of Education. He has done a wonderful job. And it's because in talking to him so many times when he was still a governor in South Carolina, and before he was in this Secretary of Education position, I knew personally of his interest in education back in those days, and he was trying to put the ideas forward within his state, and then had a chance to work with us across the board here in Washington. He has done such an outstanding job in this, and it's really a pleasure for me to introduce the Secretary of Education, Dick Riley.

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Last Updated -- December 20, 2000, (lvb)