U.S. Development of Science and Mathematics

By Julie Peters
  • Period: to

    Science and Math Timeline

  • 1970's

    1970's
    1970's- Serious challenges were raised to NSF that through its curriculum programs, a national curriculum was being advanced. NSF sponsored teacher professional development programs ceased to operate for several years.

  • 1980's

    1980's
    1980's- Policy makers examined K-12 student achievement rates and declared the nation "at risk" of economic castastrophe. They prescribed ramping up high school graduation requirements, especially in science and math, a recommendation that was a precursor to the standards-based reforms of the 1990's.

  • 1990-1996

    1990-1996
    1990- The "Physics First" movement begins to grow.
    1996- The National Research Council produces the National Science Education Standards, a set of goals for teaching, student knowledge and assessment.

  • 2001

    2001
    2001- The No Child Left Behind Act takes the focus off science education as teachers scramble to boost scores on math and reading tests.

  • 2007-2008

    2007-2008
    2007-2008- No child left behind legislation, which mandates state-level assessments in science beginning in the 2007-2008 school year.

  • 1950's-1960's

    1950's-1960's
    1950's-1960's- Saw the first federal foray into science teacher education and curriculum reform under auspices of the National Science Foundation's summer institutes and curriculum development projects. A milestone in science education, the NSF curriculum development projects focused on upgrading the teaching of science by modernizing the contents of science courses.

  • 1998-1999

    1998-1999
    1998- The College Board introduces AP Environmental Science.
    1999- U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley creates the National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century.

  • References

    Sciences, N. A. of, Education, B. on S., Schweingruber, H. A., Duschl, R. A., Behavioural, D. of, & Sciences, S. (2007). Taking Science to School: Learning And Teaching Science in Grades K-8. (A. W. Shouse, Ed.) (1st ed.). Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.
    Timeline: Important dates in U.S. science education history - The Hechinger Report. (2011, January 25). Retrieved 23 October 2015, from http://hechingerreport.org/timeline-important-dates-in-u-s-science-education-history/

  • 1910

    1910
    1910- Peak of skills in paper and pencil computation

  • 1960

    1960
    New Math- The inception of the New Math was the collision between skills and understanding.

  • Late 1980s

    Late 1980s
    1. Expanded role of technology.
    2. NCTM Standards- NCTM publishes the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics in 1989 and provides objectives for mathematics curricula and assessment.

  • 2010-2015

    2010-2015
    The Common Core Standards are released and adopted by various states. The Common Core is a set of high-quality academic standards in mathematics and English.

  • 1788-Mathematics

    1788-Mathematics
    1788- Langrange publishes Analytical Mechanics. It summarises all the work done in the field of mechanics since the time of Newton and is notable for its use of the theory of differential equations. With this work Lagrange transforms mechanics into a branch of mathematical analysis.

  • 1792-1794

    1792-1794
    1792- De Prony begins a major task of producing the Cadastre. This consisted of logarithmic and trigonometric tables given to between 14 and 29 decimal places.
    1794- Legendre publishes Elements of geometrie, an account of geometry which would be the leading text for the next 100 years.

  • 1800

    1800
    1800- Arithmetic becomes a part of general education.
    1850- Three-leveled textbooks. Rudiments of arithmetic , Intellectual arithmetic, Practical arithmetic.

  • 1980

    1980
    1. Standardized test scores bottom out.
    2. An Agenda for Action.
    3. A Nation at Risk A 1980 report showed low enrollments in advanced math and science courses and the general lowering of school expectations and college entrance requirements.

  • The early 1990s

    The early 1990s
    1. The Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics published by NCTM in 1991.
    2. NSF funds the development of Standards-aligned curricula in 1992.
    3. Many states develop frameworks and adopt curricula aligned with the Standards.
    4. The Math Wars" begin.

  • 1990+

    1990+
    Cognitive neuropsychological approaches to mathematical cognition.

  • 2009 Race To The Top

    2009 Race To The Top
    The $4.35 billion Race to the Top Fund is the largest-ever federal competitive investment in school reform

  • Math Timeline References

    A brief History of Mathematics Education. (n.d.). Retrieved 29 October 2015, from http://www.ccis.edu/faculty/aschlemper/images/a%20brief%20history%20of%20math%20ed.pdf
    Chronology index. (n.d.). Retrieved 29 October 2015, from http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Chronology/index.html
    Race To The Top. (n.d.). Retrieved 29 October 2015, from https://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/factsheet.pdf
    Reys, R. E., Lambdin, D. V., Smith, N. L., & Lindquist, M. M. (2012). Helping children learn mathemati