II. Statement of Need.

             The "STEP" plan is necessary because of the "No Child Left Behind" education reform that has been put into place by President George W. Bush and because US test scores are far behind many different international test scores. The "No Child Left Behind" reform says that it is the obligation and responsibility of the teacher to teach each and every student. All students, in every state, are now required to take and pass some form of a proficiency test that measures their ability to read and write. These tests are showing that there are many students that are not meeting the state or national standards of education, particularly in Math and Science. In fact, the scores are showing that the US is far behind many international scores. "In short, the tests showed U.S. fourth-graders performing poorly, middle school students worse. and high school students are unable to compete. By the same criteria used to say we were "average" in elementary school, "we appear to be "near the bottom" at the high school level." (Forfione, 2004).

             One would believe that the US would be scoring very high on standardized tests because of the superior technology and resources that are available. However, according to Dr. Schmidt, who is in charge of the research effort into the TIMSS results, .

             "the actual cause for the failures appears to be weak math and science curricula in U.S. middle schools. " (Forfione, 2004).

             Therefore, a plan such as the "STEP" plan will prepare students to pass the standardized test by allowing them to use technology and networking to improve their math and science learning experiences. Most students enjoy being on the computer and chatting with friends. By networking and working together with students from countries who are passing the tests, the student will learn about different cultures while at the same time increasing their skills so that he or she can pass the tests.