gram that trains middle and high school science teachers. Eighty percent of the education is in a participant’s scientific discipline and 20% percent is in pedagogy, emphasizing the secondary-classroom applications of inquiry-based instruction. At the end of 2 years (three summers and alternate Saturdays during the school year), teachers graduate with master’s of science degrees in chemistry education or integrated science education. Those teachers have demonstrated a major influence in their schools.35 They mentor other teachers, update the schools’ curricula, and recruit students into demanding science courses. They are the “teachers of teachers” who provide the academic leadership so urgently needed in school districts across the country.
An additional 50,000 of those truly outstanding teachers could inspire and support students and other teachers to work harder at mathematics and science. Our recommendation would provide the funding and structure to reach about one-sixth of the nation’s science and mathematics teachers—about three teachers in each of the more than 15,000 school districts in the nation.
The third implementation action for the K–12 educational recommendation is a program to train an additional 70,000 AP and IB teachers and 80,000 pre-AP/IB teachers of mathematics and science (at present, the AP program serves many more students than does the IB program). Teachers from schools where there are few or no AP or IB courses would receive priority for this program. The model for this recommendation is the College Board’s AP program, which has wide acceptance in secondary and higher education. It also could be implemented in schools certified by the International Baccalaureate Organization. So long as they demonstrate satisfactory performance, AP and IB teachers would receive incentives to attend professional development seminars and to tutor and prepare students outside regular classroom hours. Under the proposed program, their development fees would be paid, and they would receive a bonus for each student who passed an AP or IB examination in mathematics or science. Implementation in each state would require the creation of a non-profit organization staffed by talented master teachers who would help local schools manage the program and enforce high standards.