This report provides quantitative data to assist in decisionmaking while United States science and technology is in transition. This 1998 report features new data and analyses. In addition to enhanced international comparisons and a chapter on the significance of information technologies, features of this report include improved international performance indicators of precollege science and mathematics education, curricula, and teacher preparation; enhanced coverage of the situation of recent graduates and postdoctoral scientists and engineers; and venture capital indicators. The report overview is organized around four themes that encapsulate significant trends in the transition into the 21st century which include increasing globalization, greater emphasis on education and training, structural and priority changes, and the increasing impact of science and technology on daily lives. (DDR)