According to experts ranging from White House advisors to leading education organizations, the state of math and science instruction in the United States is in crisis--and only a major overhaul of the U.S. education system will get the nation back on track. In a Nov. 12 webinar, experts discussed several potential ways to bring out these necessary reforms, from changing the perception of math and science to implementing common national standards.

The webinar, titled "America's Math and Science Crisis: How to Fix It," was hosted by the Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media at Columbia University Teachers College. The event started with a list of statistics that suggested the skills of American students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are declining in relation to students from other industrialized nations.

For instance, recent results from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) suggested the top-performing U.S. high school students were bested by students from at least 20 other nations in math and science.

Presenters also discussed a story from the New York Daily News that was published on the same day as the webinar, reporting that freshman students at the City University of New York could not solve basic algebra problems involving fractions and decimals.

"It's a problem that [exists] all across the country," said presenter Steve Robinson, a member of the White House Domestic Policy Counsel for the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and special advisor to Education Secretary Arne Duncan. "You read about these things all the time."

According to Robinson, the solution to the STEM education crisis revolves around ED's four major areas of school reform: improved standards and assessments (and specifically, promoting common national standards), effective teachers and school leaders, the use of robust data systems to inform instruction, and targeting chronically low-performing schools.

Although there are many funding sources to help encourage high-quality education, Robinson cited the federal Race to the Top Fund, "which I think could specifically help STEM fields," he said.

The fund, which will distribute nearly $5 billion to states that adopt ED's reform goals, is now open for applications. (See "$5 billion ‘Race to the Top' begins.") However, there is a "Competitive Preference Priority" that says the fund will give preference to states that focus on STEM education by providing rigorous standards, partnering with national and local STEM organizations, and encouraging underrepresented groups to enter the STEM fields.