The latest results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress just painted a dismal picture of math performance in America’s schools, continuing to show more than a decade of stagnation.

Studies, research papers, doctoral dissertations, conference presentations — each year academia churns out thousands of pieces of research on education. And for many of them, that's the end of it.

The fire service is proudly steeped in tradition. As the saying goes, “centuries of tradition unhampered by progress.” But progress is happening, and a focus on the natural sciences, mathematics and ...