National Math and Science Initiative

ExxonMobil became a founding sponsor of the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) in 2007 and committed $125 million to support it. NMSI was launched to improve math and science education by preparing talented students and teachers to enter the world of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. NMSI focuses on replicating proven programs with quantifiable results — such as the Advanced Placement(AP) and Pre-Advanced Placement Training and Incentives Programs™ and UTeach — through a competitive process and to ensure those programs are sustainable within five years.

NMSI has already proven to be successful. In the first year of the AP Training & Incentive Program (APTIP), the program schools in its six states produced a 52 percent increase in the number of AP courses passed in math, science, and English (MSE). That is nine times the national average. Just as importantly, this is a program that works in large schools, small schools, urban schools and rural schools. And, it can help reduce the minority achievement gap significantly — these schools showed a 71 percent increase in MSE exams passed by African-American and Hispanic students in just one year.

One of the keys to success in APTIP is providing high-quality professional development for the existing teacher corps. In 2009, NMSI provided AP training to 478 teachers across the country.

NMSI's second program, UTeach, works to build the quality of our future teacher corps. The heart of this program is ensuring our new teachers have deep math and science knowledge and how to teach math and science effectively.

In the first year of replicating UTeach, NMSI has implemented the program in 13 universities nationwide — from coast to coast. The "freshman" class drew 1,100 students, and that enrollment has nearly doubled the second year.