A $5 million grant from federal stimulus funds will let CPS partner with several colleges in the city to come up with better math and science classes for high schoolers.

The goals: boost Advance Placement test scores and make sure college freshman coming from CPS schools get at least a B grade in math and science courses.

The program’s timeline is still a bit sketchy and most students probably won’t see a change in their classes until the 2010-2011 school year, says CPS spokesman Frank Shuftan.

In the coming year, university professors will teach courses to about 160 CPS teachers on how to improve math and science curricula. Those teachers will be able to coach other teachers and administrators.

“This large grant will enable us to increase the capacity of high school departments and help ensure that 12th grade courses in our schools make a strong bridge between high school and college,” Michael Lach, an fficer of teaching and learning at CPS, said in a news release.

The University of Illinois at Chicago is spearheading the research side of the project. DePaul, Loyola, Northwestern and the Illinois Institute of Technology are also involved.