SEATTLE (AP) - Microsoft Corp. is offering $6 million in grants to help improve middle-school math and science education in the Puget Sound area.

The funding is part of the Redmond company's Microsoft Math Partnership, an initiative encouraging other state businesses and government to give more attention and resources to middle-school educators.

The money will help pay for teacher training. Microsoft also is supplying free math software to middle schools.

The partnership was announced at a luncheon Wednesday by Brad Smith, Microsoft's senior vice president and co-chairman of the partnership. It comes after tests from the Washington Assessment of Student Learning showed that nearly half of tenth-graders did not pass the math section of the test last spring and only 35 percent passed the science portion.

Class of 2008 students will be the first required to pass the WASL math, reading and writing tests to earn a high-school diploma. Passing the science section will become a graduation requirement in 2010.

"Clearly it is time for us to invest even more in our math teachers so they can invest even more in our students," Smith said. "It starts at the middle-school level so that the students are interested in and prepared for the math that's needed in high school and college. And then it means filling the pipeline by finding the space for these motivated students in our colleges and universities."

The partnership was applauded by state leaders and educators alike.

"We must invest in Washington students if we want our state to remain globally competitive," Gov. Chris Gregoire said. "Microsoft understands the business sense behind this investment and knows that there are significant reasons for private businesses to partner with our public institutions."

The money and resources will be distributed over three years to eight school districts: Seattle, Highline, Kent, Renton, Lake Washington, Issaquah, Bellevue and Northshore.