Any educated person would be embarrassed to admit not knowing how to read, but many Americans would have no hesitation in admitting they are incompetent in math. Many even take pride in their ignorance of math. Students who demonstrate their talents in math and science are labeled as "nerds."

Lawyers, doctors and businessmen make much more money than mathematicians and scientists. Hundreds of prime-time television dramas glorify doctors, lawyers and police officers, but only one program-"Numb3rs" on CBS-incorporates math and science in any meaningful way.

These cultural influences are quite powerful, so I was not surprised by results from two international tests on mathematics competence for high school students that were released in January that show U.S. students lag behind their counterparts in many other countries. The same countries that we beat in the Olympics in athletic competitions defeat us soundly in math proficiency.

The Program for International Student Assessment test shows that 15-year-olds in the U.S. rank close to the bottom of 29 industrialized countries in their ability to apply mathematics to real-life situations. This places the U.S. just above Mexico and Turkey, and significantly below Finland and Hong Kong, and also behind France and Poland. In the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, the U.S. appears to do somewhat better, but this study includes developing countries such as Ghana and Botswana. The study shows U.S. fourth graders just above those in Cyprus and Moldova, and behind those in not only Singapore and Hong Kong, but several other countries as well, including Latvia and Hungary.

As U.S. students get older, they do worse in math. By eighth grade, students in Singapore, Hong Kong and other countries have expanded their lead over U.S. students.

Should we be alarmed by these results? What are the implications for our future, and what can the United States do to improve?

We should strive to do better, not for the sake of topping other countries in these tests, but because a strong math education is crucial for the economic and political future of our country as the world becomes increasingly competitive. Not only is math at the very foundation of a highly technological society, it is also a necessary skill to function in our democratic society. Understanding probability, for example, is a critical skill for citizens and consumers alike when evaluating the latest study about global warming or the safety of taking certain vitamin supplements. In assessing reforms to Social Security and making decisions about how to invest our retirement income, we need an understanding of math to guide us.

The U.S. simply cannot maintain its technological leadership of the rest of the world without citizens well educated in math.

What can we do about it? First, we have to understand the root causes of the problem. A primary cause is the lack of qualified math teachers. K-12 teaching can be very rewarding, but is also very demanding with low pay. University graduates with math and science degrees usually have many other more lucrative career choices than teaching; the drop-out rate of new teachers is understandably high.

An alarmingly high percentage of our K-12 math teachers did not get their formal training in math or science. One high school science teacher attending a teacher-training program at UCLA admitted she was only a couple of days ahead of her class in learning the material. To be an effective and inspiring teacher, you need to have the context, the history, the applications and know the nuances of the subject matter. We need to attract more qualified teachers.

One way to improve this problem is to provide continuing education for math and science teachers. Our state has recognized this need and has passed legislation providing funds for this professional training.

My own mathematics department at UCLA has a long tradition of providing such teacher-preparation programs-this in addition to offering a math major that prepares students for K-12 teaching. Also, programs in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies (GSEIS) have been designed in collaboration with math teachers and school districts to focus on the current mathematics reform movement, reshape the mathematics curriculum and reflect the roles of technology and mathematics in today's society. For example, Center X in GSEIS, in partnership with our Department of Mathematics and the Los Angeles Unified School District, created the LUCIMATH program, which since 2001 has trained approximately two-thirds of all LAUSD teachers in kindergarten through second grade.

Are these programs working? In 2002, second-graders (on average) from LAUSD scored higher than 53 percent of all students on a nationwide standardized test-this was up from 44 percent the previous year. According to a GSEIS study, teachers who completed the LUCIMATH program reported enhanced confidence in teaching math.

Certainly, this work represents progress, but this type of local commitment to math improvement needs to be duplicated on a national scale.

UCLA's efforts can be a model for what other universities can do, but the real solution requires political leadership at the national and state level, and a commitment from citizens to recognize the importance of the basic problem and to fund a national program to counter it.

The U.S. made this kind of national commitment when we responded to the Soviet Sputnik challenge in the 1960's, and we succeeded in sending our astronauts to the moon. Perhaps this time it will be China, with its meteoric rise in economic power, that will galvanize our national will. The fundamental change that has to occur in the United States is cultural. Our society simply does not value excellence in math and science. For that, there is no quick fix. But it is time to start.

Tony Chan is the former Dean of Physical Sciences at UCLA, professor of mathematics, and former director of UCLA's Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics. He is currently on leave from the University and is serving as Assistant Director for Mathematics and Physical Sciences (MPS) at NSF. An edited version of this article appeared in the Sunday Opinion section of the Los Angeles Times.