Acknowledgments

            Beginning in 1996, several industry associations and coalitions published occupational skill standards to document the entry-level expectations of modern high-performance industries. At the same time, the Institute on Education and the Economy (IEE) at Teachers College, Columbia University, organized a series of meetings to stimulate discussion about integrating academic and industry skill standards. The meetings and subsequent publications were undertaken by IEE in its capacity as a site of the National Center for Research in Vocational Education. One such meeting, held in November 1997 at the Arden Conference Center in Harriman, New York, focused on mathematics. Beyond Eight Grade: Functional Mathematics for Life and Workis one outcome of that meeting, a summary of issues and an interpretation of ideas that blend desires of employers with the expectations of academics. We wish to thank Thomas Bailey, Director of IEE, for suggesting and supporting this work, as well as IEE staff members Eric Larsen, Donna Merritt, and Lisa Rothman for their help with editorial and publishing details.

            While the ideas and proposals in this paper are the authors', we wish to thank the many colleagues and associates who have provided forceful arguments and stimulating critiques about the issues addressed. These include Gene Bottoms, Maurice Burke, Gail Burrill, John Dossey, Teresa Drawbaugh, Rol Fessenden, Evelyn Ganzglass, Carver Gayton, Frank Girodano, Amy Gleason, Robert Glover, Amiee Guidera, Norton Grubb, Travis Hembree, Gary Hoachlander, Judith Leff, Jack Lochhead, Robert Kimball, Carole Lacampagne, Dane Linn, Charles Losh, Joyce Maddox, Kathy Mannes, Adrianne Massey, Pamela Matthews, James McKenney, Martin Nahemow, Robert Orrill, Arnold Packer, Jack Price, Larry Rosenstock, Rhonda Rumbaugh, Gerhard Salinger, Lisa Seidman, C. J. Shroll, Jimmy Solomon, Adria Steinberg, Elizabeth Teles, Margaret Vickers, Jack Wilkinson, and Joyce Winterton.