This policy analysis report on the Dade County Public Schools was written as part of an Honors Student Mentor Group sponsored by the Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship Studies. The students visited several schools, conducting personal interviews with staff and students, and reviewed statistical sources on a weekly basis under the guidance of an associate professor of history, who was also the director of the Dade Community Summit Conference on Building Effective Schools. Fourteen recommendations were cited as follows: (1) hands-on mathematics projects should be promoted at every stage of schooling; (2) manipulatives should be used extensively; (3) use of workbooks and ditto sheets should be minimized; (4) each student should own a calculator and have it available for daily use; (5) computers should be used primarily for higher order cognitive activities, rather than basic skills drill; (6) portfolio assessment should be encouraged for the annual evaluation of students, teachers, and schools; (7) all elementary schools should have specialists in mathematics, science, and computer sciences; (8) cross-grouping should be used widely; (9) each school should have a mathematics coordinator for resources, inservice programs, curriculum design, and peer coaching; (10) all elementary mathematics instructors should update their own mathematics training; (11) Florida state certification requirements for elementary school teachers should be strengthened in terms of mathematics coursework; (12) specific linguistic difficulties of minorities should be assimilated into corrective teaching practices; (13) mathematics instruction should stress multicultural traditions; and (14) college student volunteers should be recruited as tutors. (JJK)