Talk:National Math and Science Initiative

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Reads like it was written by PR within organization; pseudo-advertising.

--- There's a fact error in here somewhere. In one paragraph, the text says UTeach was one of two programs that were "were commended in the National Academies’ report Rising Above the Gathering Storm for having 10 years of data showing they produce positive results." In another paragraph, the text says Rising Above the Gather Storm was published in 2005. In a third paragraph, the text says UTeach was organized at UT Austin in 1997. Impressive math: in 2005, an organization started in 1997 already had 10 years of data showing the organization's programs worked. Tmzinnen (talk) 12:20, 2 August 2011 (UTC)

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Hello, I am the Communications/Marketing Assistant at the National Math and Science Initiative, and I would like to work with the Wiki community to update our page with the most recent information about the company and provide credible sources in order to ensure the accuracy of this article. It is very much outdated (for instance, all of our program names have changes), and it all reads like a PR advertisement, just as Tmzinnen said, and we want to fix that by revising the entire page.

That being said, my first proposed edits are for the Introductory section and the "Need for a National Initiative" section. I humbly propose that both be changed entirely to the following two sections.

Intro: The National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) is a non-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas, that launched in 2007. Its mission is to improve student performance in the subjects of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in the United States. It attempts to do this by scaling up local academic programs to a national level.

History of the Company: In 2005, the National Academies commissioned a report titled “Rising Above the Gathering Storm” which asserts that student achievement in the subjects of math and science has declined in the United States, while other countries have increased their student achievement scores in the same subject areas (source: http://www7.nationalacademies.org/ocga/testimony/gathering_storm_energizing_and_employing_america2.asp). The report recommended the creation of a non-profit organization to help marshal private sector support to help improve math and science education in the United States. Several authors of the report partnered with Peter O’Donnell Jr. to meet this need, effectively establishing NMSI’s board of directors and committing to bring both the UTeach and NMSI’s College Readiness program (formerly known as NMSI’s Comprehensive AP Program and the Advanced Placement Training and Incentive Program (APTIP) to scale nationally. ExxonMobil invested $125 million to launch the effort (source: http://corporate.exxonmobil.com/en/community/math-and-science/national-math-and-science-initiative/overview?parentId=bad0c112-6677-4324-bd39-c28aa7ed3237), which was later supplemented by an additional $125 million from corporations, foundations, individual donors and government agencies – creating an effective public-private partnership model that continues to sustain the organization today.

I ask that the Wikipedia community please review and help implement these suggested edits. Thank you. Timotheous128 (talk) 21:33, 25 March 2014 (UTC)

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I have implemented my suggestions in the Wiki talk page for this article, per my suggestions here the Wiki talk page. Please review to make sure all is well, or if any additional changes need to be made. Thank you. Timotheous128 (talk) 16:20, 7 April 2014 (UTC)

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Continuing my series of edits, I would like to suggest that the following changes be made to the "Replications of Proven Programs" section and the APTIP/IMF sections. The majority of the stats and numerical data are outdated and in need of revision with current numbers. The names of our programs have also changed, but for now I would simply like to update the APTIP/IMF sections to reflect the updated NMSI's College Readiness Program:

NMSI Programs (replace previous title of "Replication of Proven Programs") NMSI has expanded three programs to a national scale: NMSI’s College Readiness Program, NMSI’s Laying the Foundation Program (note: Because this will need to be a new section, I will recommend the additional language at a later date), and the UTeach Program.

NMSI’s College Readiness Program (replace APTIP and IMF sections with this all-encompassing section): NMSI’s College Readiness Program is a three-year program in which teachers go through rigorous professional development to better prepare themselves and their students for Advanced Placement Exams. The prototype for NMSI’s program, Advanced Placement Strategies (APS) was launched as a public-private partnership in the Dallas area in 1995 by a group of local businessmen committed to education reform. The goal of the APS program was to improve college readiness and encourage STEM studies for underserved Texas public high school students by increasing participation and performance in AP math, science and English courses. Texas schools in their first year of the APS program increased their exam participation by 198 percent. (source: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-109shrg26426/html/CHRG-109shrg26426.htm)

In the 2008-2009 school year, NMSI replicated the APS program as the Advanced Placement Training and Incentive Program (APTIP) and in its first year, the program increased enrollment in AP courses by nearly 70 percent, including a 122 percent increase among African American and Hispanic students. The number of passing AP math, science, and English exams also increased by 52 percent, which was nine times the national average; for African American and Hispanic students, the increase in passing AP scores was 71.5 percent. (source: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100830005772/en/National-Math-Science-Initiative%E2%80%99s-Year-Results-Boost#.U0LT_vldV8F)

On September 1, 2012, APS officially merged with NMSI to bring this program to scale throughout the United States. (source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/advanced-placement-strategies-joins-national-math-and-science-168435816.html) More than 50,000 students are now enrolled in the NMSI College Readiness Program, and it is currently being implemented in more than 550 schools in 22 states. (source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/students-in-national-math-and-science-initiative-program-outperform-peers-on-advanced-placement-exams-for-fifth-consecutive-year-221483841.html)

The most recent results show a continuing trend of student improvement. Over the life cycle of the NMSI program, the number of average passing scores on AP math, science and English exams increased by 144 percent, compared to 23.2 percent nationally. The average three-year increase in the number of passing math, science and English scores among minorities enrolled in the NMSI program is 219 percent compared to the national average of 48.5 percent. The number of average passing scores for females enrolled in the NMSI program increased by 87 percent, compared to 8.7 percent nationally. (source: http://www.nms.org/Blog/TabId/58/PostId/163/students-in-national-math-and-science-initiative-program-outperform-peers-on-advanced-placement-exams-for-fifth-consecutive-year.aspx)

In 2010, the organization received funding from the Lockheed Martin Corporation to launch the AP program in schools serving military bases. (source: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100521005152/en/Lockheed-Martin-Corporation-Partners-National-Math-Science) In April 2011, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden announced the expansion of the program as part of their national Joining Forces initiative, which aims to provide support and resources to military personnel and their families in the areas of employment, housing, health care, education, etc. (source: http://www.massinsight.org/news/213/) Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden made the announcement at a community event at Fountain-Fort Carson High School in Fountain, Colo. (source: http://www.massinsight.org/news/213/) As of January 2014, NMSI’s College Readiness Program is being implemented in 71 schools serving military families in 18 states. (source: http://www.nms.org/Blog/TabId/58/PostId/220/aberdeen-high-school-awarded-the-national-math-and-science-initiative-school-of-the-year.aspx)

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As before, I ask that the Wikipedia community please review and help implement these suggested edits. Thank you. Timotheous128 (talk) 16:41, 7 April 2014 (UTC)

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Moving right along with my series of edits, here are the next two sections I would like to include. One is an addition to this page, the other is a revision. Please review and help me implement these changes. Thank you.

NMSI’s Laying the Foundation Program In January 2012, NMSI merged with Laying the Foundation, an organization which focused on professional development for math, science, and English teachers, grades 6-12 (http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20111216005087/en/Laying-Foundation-Joins-National-Math-Science-Initiative). After the merge, NMSI’s Laying the Foundation teacher training program was expanded to include training for elementary teachers, grades 3-5 (http://www.nms.org/Blog/TabId/58/PostId/128/freddie-kendrick-talks-elementary-education.aspx). In 2012, NMSI was selected to work with the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) consortium to lead Common Core State Standards training in 22 states and create the Educator Leader Cadre (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nmsi-awarded-43-million-contract-to-lead-parcc-educator-leader-cadres-159403165.html).

In August 2013, NMSI received a $248,760 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a series of web-based training modules for teachers who have attended NMSI’s Laying the Foundation Program (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/online-learning-modules-will-play-a-big-role-in-common-core-implementation-across-the-us-219405611.html).

UTeach Program The UTeach Program originated at The University of Texas at Austin in 1997, enabling students who are majoring in math, science, or computer science to receive full teaching certification without adding time or cost to their degrees. The national replication process is directed by NMSI in conjunction with the UTeach Institute. The NMSI-supported replication of the UTeach program for preparing teachers was launched in 2008 in 13 universities in nine states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Texas)(http://www.uteach-institute.org/images/uploads/implementation_summary_c1yr2_natl.pdf).

On Jan. 6, 2010, President Barack Obama mentioned the UTeach program at a White House education event, saying, “To bring more educators into the classroom, the National Math and Science Initiative is working with Texas Instruments and the Dell Foundation to prepare almost 5,000 new math and science teachers in the next five years -- through a program that allows young people to earn teaching certificates and science degrees at the same time.” (http://www.utexas.edu/news/2010/01/07/uteach_expansion/)

On February 4, 2014, it was announced that NMSI is expanding the program to 5 additional universities thanks to a $22.5 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, bringing the total number of UTeach Replication sites to 40 across 19 states. (http://www.nms.org/Blog/TabId/58/PostId/224/national-math-and-science-initiative-uteach-institute-and-howard-hughes-medical-institute-announce-national-expansion-of-highly-successful-uteach-program.aspx) ~

Again, please review and help me implement these changes. Thank you. Timotheous128 (talk) 14:54, 18 April 2014 (UTC)

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I have implemented the suggested changes. Please review and make sure everything is up to standard, otherwise thank you for your help. Timotheous128 (talk) 21:25, 5 May 2014 (UTC)

--- Hello again, I have a few more minor edits to make to the UTeach section.

First, the title needs to be changed to NMSI's UTeach Expansion Program.

Second, the following copy needs to be added/revised:

Furthermore, the UTeach Institute projects that 9,000 UTeach program graduates will have impacted 4.8 million secondary STEM students nationwide by 2020. (source: http://www.uteach-institute.org/files/uploads/uteach_grad_report_november_2013.pdf).

On February 4, 2014, it was announced that NMSI is expanding the program to 5 additional universities thanks to a $22.5 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, bringing the total number of UTeach Replication sites to 40 across 19 states. Another 5 will be added in 2015 through the HHMI funding. [18]

If you have any questions, please let me know. Otherwise, I ask the Wiki community to make these edits on behalf of NMSI. Thank you, Timotheous128 (talk) 22:24, 12 May 2014 (UTC)

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The page has now been fully updated. I ask that the wiki community please check the revisions and leave any feedback they deem necessary. Any additional changes by NMSI will undergo this same process. Thank you, Timotheous128 (talk) 15:28, 19 May 2014 (UTC)

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I've never left a talk page post before, and I don't really plan on doing so again. But after looking through this article's Talk page, I couldn't justify to myself not leaving a maintenance tag. Being unfamiliar with the policies regarding how closely Wikipedia collaborates with organizations, I'm unsure with how common such a practice is. However, it seems to me egregious the amount of influence that the user Timotheous128, a self-described "Communications/Marketing Assistant at the National Math and Science Initiative" seemingly had in the creation of this article. It's obviously due for a rewrite, and I suspect that-- if this organization is at all notable-- there are better sources out there regarding it other than the barrage of glowing press releases currently listed.

Vacatio Libertas (talk) 01:21, 9 February 2022 (UTC)