This booklet is the first of a series of 16 booklets that together describe and present findings for a study which involved field observations and a survey of science teaching and learning in American public schools during the school year 1976-77. The study was undertaken to provide the National Science Foundation with a portrayal of current conditions in K-12 science classrooms to help make the Foundation's programs of support for science education consistent with national needs. Eleven high schools and their feeder schools were selected to provide a diverse and balanced group of case study sites. One field researcher was assigned to each site and instructed to find out what was happening and what was felt important in science (including mathematics and social science) programs. To confirm findings of the ethnographic case studies and to add special information, a national stratified-random-sample of about 4,000 teachers, principals, curriculum supervisors, superintendents, parents, and senior class students were surveyed. An overview of the study and project methodology are contained in this booklet along with a discussion of the context of precollege education in America. (MN)