Allocate federal professional-development funds to summer institutes that address the most pressing professional-development needs of mathematics and science teachers.

Keep summer-institute facilitators—teachers current with the most effective teaching methods in their disciplines and who have shown demonstrable results of higher student achievement in mathematics and science—abreast of new insights and research in science and mathematics teaching by providing funding for training them.

Encourage higher education institutions to establish mathematics and science teaching academies that include faculty from science, mathematics, and education departments through a competitive grant process.

Support promising students to study science, mathematics, and engineering teaching—particularly those obtaining degrees in science, mathematics, or engineering who plan to teach at the K–12 level following graduation through scholarships and loan programs for students as well as institutional funding. Qualified college students and midcareer professionals need to be attracted into teaching and given the preparation they require to succeed. Experts in mathematics, science, and technology should be able to become teachers by completing programs to acquire and demonstrate fundamental teaching skills. Recruitment, preparation, and retention of minority-group teachers are particularly important as groups underrepresented in science, mathematics, and engineering become a larger percentage of the student population.

Conduct an aggressive, national-outreach media campaign to attract young people to teaching careers in mathematics and science.

Work for broad improvements in the professional status of science, mathematics, and technology teachers. Structured induction programs for new teachers, district–business partnerships, award programs, and other incentives can inspire teachers and encourage them to remain in the field. Most important, salaries for science, mathematics, and technology teachers need to reflect what they could receive in the private sector and be in accord with their contributions to society, and teachers need to be treated as professionals and as important members of the science and engineering communities.

Help colleges, businesses, and schools work together to link K–12 standards to college admissions criteria and workforce needs to create a seamless K–16 educational system.

Provide incentives for states and coalitions of states to conduct benchmarking studies between their standards and the best standards available.