Elementary math is beyond teachers.

• Position: YOUR LIFE - National Council on Teacher Quality - Brief article

A mere 13% of undergraduate education schools require sufficient amounts of relevant math coursework for prospective elementary teachers, according to a report by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), Washington, D.C. The organization rated schools in 49 states by studying entrance and exit requirements, tests, textbooks, course syllabi, and state licensing exams. The results shed new light on why American kids fare so poorly on international comparisons.

Math scores for U.S. fourth-graders have not improved since 1995 on the world's "report card"--the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, or TIMSS, leaving American students 12th out of the 25 countries whose students took the test. "As a nation, our dislike and discomfort with math is so endemic that we do not even find it...