“The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel”

National policy must ensure the healthy development of a domestic technical workforce with adequate scale and top-level skill. But the concerns of national policy relating to mathematics education go well beyond those in our society who will become scientists or engineers. The national workforce of future years will surely have to handle quantitative concepts more fully and more deftly than at present. So will the citizens and policy leaders who deal with the public interest in positions of civic leadership. Sound education in mathematics across the population is a national interest. Mathematics literacy is a serious problem in the United States. According to Philips (2007), 78% of adults cannot explain how to compute the interest paid on a loan, 71% cannot calculate miles per gallon on a trip, and 58% cannot calculate a 10% tip for a lunch bill. Further, it is clear from the research that a broad range of students and adults also have difficulties with fractions (e.g., Hecht, Vagi, & Torgeson, 2007; Mazzocco & Devlin, in press), a foundational skill essential to success in algebra. The recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP, “the Nation’s Report Card”)shows that 27% of eighth-graders could not correctly shade 1/3 of a rectangle and 45% could not solve a word problem that required dividing fractions (U.S. Department of Education, 2004).
Labor economists Richard J. Murnane and Frank Levy have spoken to the vital importance of mathematical skill(Murnane & Levy, 1996):
Close to half of all seventeen year olds cannot read or do math at the level needed to get a job at a modern automobile plant. Barring some other special knowledge or talent that would allow them to earn a living as, say, a plumber or artist, they lack the skills to earn a middle-class paycheck in today’s economy.
Algebra has emerged as a central concern, for it is a demonstrable gateway to later achievement. Students need Algebra for more advanced mathematics course work in high school (Evan, Gray, & Olchefske, 2006). Yet, problems in mathematics learning in the U.S. increase in late middle school before students move into algebra. We see this in the scores on the NAEP. Results at Grade 4 have improved considerably over the past 15 years and have just reached historic highs; scores at Grade 8 have also increased somewhat; but no progress is evident at Grade 12. In addition, NAEP results show that only 39% of our students are at or above the “proficient” level in Grade 8 (U.S. Department of Education, 2007), and even fewer, 23%, are at that level by Grade 12 (U.S. Department of Education, 2005).International comparisons also show that American students have not been succeeding in the mathematical part of their education at anything like a level expected of an international leader. In the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), an international assessment, U.S.students do less well in Grade 8 than Grade 4. The performance is still poorer in Grade 12, although the data for Grade 12, dating from 1995, are now quite old (Evan et al., 2006). Similarly, in the 2007 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), U.S. 15-yearolds ranked 25th among 30 developed nations in math literacy and problem solving (Baldi, Jin, Shemer, Green, Hergert, & Xie, 2007). Even in elementary school, the U.S. is not among the world leaders; only 7% of U.S. fourth-graders scored at the advanced level in TIMSS, compared to 38% of fourth-graders in Singapore, a world leader in mathematics achievement. From all of these results and analyses, questions naturally arise about how American students can be generally better prepared in mathematics and, in particular, how they can make a good start in secondary education by being well prepared for entry into Algebra. Given the importance of mathematics education, we must also take a hard look at who will be teaching this subject in school. All the efforts to ensure that mathematics is given the attention it deserves in the nation’s schools will be for naught without an adequate supply of mathematically knowledgeable and properly trained mathematics teachers. Success in mathematics education matters at the level of individual citizens because it opens options for college and career and increases prospects for future income. The probability that a student will enroll in a four-year college correlates substantially with completion of high school mathematics programs beyond the level of Algebra II (Horn & Nuñez, 2000; Horowitz, 2005). In fact, students who complete Algebra II are more than twice as likely to graduate from college as students who lack such preparation (Adelman, 1999; Evan et al., 2006).Although such correlations do not establish cause-and-effect linkages, they are clear and notable, because they connect with policy concerns of leaders and practical choices that students and parents must make. College participation and graduation rates are critical for our nation, because college graduates offer many benefits to civic life and to the economy rooted in their additional education. College graduates are more likely to vote, use new technology, and become civic leaders, and are less likely to be involved in criminal activity (Pascarella &Terenzini, 1991).

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4.The word “algebra” is capitalized when referring to a particular course or course sequence, such as Algebra I and II.
5. Remedial courses cover precollegiate mathematics and normally do not bear credit that can be counted toward graduation from college. Some institutions do not offer remedial course work.

ANALYSIS

For the stylistic analysis of the text was chosen an extract from “The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel” written in scientific prose style.

Scientific prose style is used to create new concepts, prove hypothesis or to explain phenomena. This style, as other functional styles has some peculiarities: * developed system of connectives; * use of terms; * use of subject-neutral vocabulary: * use of quotations and references; * the impersonality; * sentence-patterns.

In conformation that an extract from “The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel” is written in scientific prose style lets look at the examples for each point.
First of all, this style has a logical sequence of utterances with clear indication of their interrelations and interdependence, that is why in no other functional style there is such a developed and varied system of connectives as in scientific prose. And in the extract from “The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel” we can see a great number of preposition: * Even in elementary school, the U.S. is not among the world leaders; only 7% of U.S. fourth-graders scored at the advanced level in TIMSS, compared to 38% of fourth-graders in Singapore, a world leader in mathematics achievement. conjunctional phrases: * it is clear from the research that a broad range of students and adults also have difficulties with fractions. * Educational Progress (NAEP, “the Nation’s Report Card”)shows that 27% of eighth-graders could not prepositional phrases: * According to Philips (2007), 78% of adults cannot explain how to compute the interest paid on a loan. * In addition, NAEP results show that only 39% of ourstudents are at or above the “proficient” level in Grade 8 (U.S. Department of Education, 2007).
Another noticeable feature of scientific prose style is use of terms. An extract from “The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel” has common: * cannot calculate miles per gallon on a trip, and 58% cannot calculate a 10% tip for a lunch bill. and special terms: * students and adults also have difficulties with fractions (e.g., Hecht, Vagi, & Torgeson, 2007; Mazzocco & Devlin, in press), a foundational skill essential to success in algebra.
A particularly important aspect of scientific language is the subject-neutral vocabulary which cuts across different specialized spheres. There are several examples of subject-neutral vocabulary used in the extract from “The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel”: adverbs: * The national workforce of future years will surely have to handle quantitative concepts more fully and more deftly than at present. * From all of these results and analyses, questions naturally arise about how American students can be generally better prepared in mathematics and, in particular, how they can make a good start in secondary education. * The probability that a student will enroll in a four-year college correlates substantially with completion of high school mathematics programs. verbs of exposition: * 78% of adults cannot explain how to compute the interest paid on a loan. verbs of warning and advising: * All the efforts to ensure that mathematics is given the attention it deserves in the nation’s schools will be for naught without an adequate supply of mathematically knowledgeable and properly trained mathematics teachers. verbs of manipulation: * Barring some other special knowledge or talent that would allow them to earn a living as, say, a plumber or artist, they lack the skills to earn a middle-class paycheck in today’s economy. * The probability that a student will enroll in a four-year college correlates substantially with completion of high school mathematics programs beyond the level of Algebra II. Also literary words can be used in scientific prose style. To avoid ambiguity these words are always used in direct meaning. For example: common nouns: * College graduates are more likely to vote, use new technology, and become civic leaders, and are less likely to be involved in criminal activity (Pascarella &Terenzini, 1991). * The probability that a student will enroll in a four-year college correlates substantially with completion of high school mathematics program. abstract nouns: * Success in mathematics education matters at the level of individual citizens because it opens options for college and career and increases prospects for future income. * Given the importance of mathematics education, we must also take a hard look at who will be teaching this subject in school. collective nouns: * But the concerns of national policy relating to mathematics education go well beyond those in our society who will become scientists or engineers. * Sound education in mathematics across the population is a national interest. And even if its meaning slightly modified it will be explained either in context or in foot-note:

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4.The word “algebra” is capitalized when referring to a particular course or course sequence, such as Algebra I and II.
The use of quotations and references is also very important, noticeable and frequently used feature of the scientific prose style and it is present in the extract from “The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel”: quotation: * Labor economists Richard J. Murnane and Frank Levy have spoken to the vital importance of mathematical skill(Murnane & Levy, 1996):
Close to half of all seventeen year olds cannot read or do math at the level needed to get a job at a modern automobile plant. Barring some other special knowledge or talent that would allow them to earn a living as, say, a plumber or artist, they lack the skills to earn a middle-class paycheck in today’s economy. references: * The performance is still poorer in Grade 12, although the data for Grade 12, dating from 1995, are now quite old (Evan et al., 2006). * U.S. 15-yearolds ranked 25th among 30 developed nations in math literacy and problem solving (Baldi, Jin, Shemer, Green, Hergert, & Xie, 2007). * Students need Algebra for more advanced mathematics course work in high school (Evan, Gray, & Olchefske, 2006).
Sentence-patterns are a counterpart of scientific prose style. There three types of sentence-patterns: postulatory (which begins every piece of scientific prose with postulatory statements which are taken as self-evident and needing no proof), argumentative and formulative (includes author`s ideas and sum up). postulatory: * Algebra has emerged as a central concern, for it is a demonstrable gateway to later achievement.
But not all features of scientific prose style are present in the chosen extract.
The impersonality, which is used in scientific prose style to describe scientific experiments, is not used in the extract from “The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel”, because this extract tells about US students` and adults’ problems with mathematic education and has no connection with scientific experiments.
However, striking features of the scientific prose style are present at the chosen extract from “The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel”.