Introduction. Understanding the urgency -- 1. What is math? And why do we all need it? -- 2. What's going wrong in classrooms? Identifying the problems -- 3. A vision for a better future: effective classroom approaches -- 4. Taming the monster: new forms of testing that encourage learning -- 5. Stuck in the slow lane: how American grouping systems perpetuate low achievement -- 6. Paying the price for sugar and spice: how girls and women are kept out of math and science -- 7. Key strategies and ways of working -- 8. Giving children the best mathematical start: activities and advice -- 9. Making a difference through work with schools.