ECS: No Time To Waste: The Vital Role of College and University Leaders in Improving Science and Mathematics Education

           In 1965, the Education Commission of the States (ECS) was created to help improve public education policy design amongst states and territories as a nonprofit organization (Esc.org, 2011).  The ECS is an interstate compact to improve education from elementary to higher education institutions by facilitating the exchange of ideas, information, and experiences from education leaders and policy makers (Esc.org, 2011).  The ESC is divided into three fields: Information Management and ECS Clearinghouse, Programs and State Services, and Policy Studies (Ecs.org, 2011).  A mixture of state fees and contracts, grants, and sponsorships fund the ECS (Ecs.org, 2011). 

This report, “No Time To Waste: The Vital Role of College and University Leaders in Improving Science and Mathematics Education”, was presented to the U.S. Department of Education, which received funding under a National Science Foundation grant (Sanders, 2004).  The results indicate that higher education leaders should become active advocates for improving mathematics and science education at all levels including improving teacher education as an institutional agenda objective (Sanders, 2004).  Teacher education must be improved by clinical practice and disciplined learning (Sanders, 2004).  Higher education institutions need to start a comprehensive review of the quality of their teacher education programs (Sanders, 2004).  For example, it is recommended that teachers master academic content, pedagogical principles, and technology impact and application in the classroom (Sanders, 2004).  Institutions need to improve recruitment efforts and transfer admissions among higher education colleges and universities (Sanders, 2004).  Graduates need to be mentored, supported, and tracked over time to ensure success in the work field (Sanders, 2004). 

The ECS gathers, analyzes and disseminates research to policymakers about current and emerging trends, information, and innovations (Ecs.org, 2011).  The ECS operates as a nonprofit nonpartisan organization (Ecs.org, 2011), which can help prevent political and social bias.  To what extent private and public donations affect the organization is unforeseen.  The ECS does publish its annual tax return on its website for public viewing and monitoring (Ecs.org, 2011).

Esc.org. (2011). “Helping state leaders shape education policy.” Retrieved from http://www.ecs.org/ecsmain.asp?page=/html/sponsors/WebsiteForumSponsors.asp

Sanders, T. (2011). “No time to waste: The vital role of college and university leaders in improving science and mathematics education.” Retrieved from http://www.ecs.org/html/Document.asp?chouseid=5480