STEM Forum: Engaging Students in Science and Engineering Education and Careers through K-12, College/University and Business Collaboration
The Crisis in STEM Education: Data on STEM Student Achievement, Education and Careers
The following eight points are from the Business and Higher Education Forum’s report. (2005). A Commitment to America’s Future: Responding to the Crisis in Mathematics and Science Education.
1. Jobs requiring STEM degrees are projected to increase four times as fast as overall job growth. Thus, U.S. citizens will not be able to fill many job openings.
2. K-12 students from the U.S. perform below students from other industrialized countries on international tests of math and science. In the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS), U.S. ranked 15th in 8th grade math scores and 9th in 8th grade science scores. This put the U.S. above most countries in science and math achievement but still below many industrialized countries.
3. Within the U.S., there is an achievement gap between under-represented minority students and majority students at a time when underrepresented groups are becoming an increasing proportion of the U.S. labor force. For example, on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 43% of white students, 10% of African American and 16% of Latino students were proficient in mathematics.
4. Less than 40% of students intending to major in STEM fields upon college entrance actually complete a degree in these fields. For underrepresented minorities the rate is below 25%.
5. Internationally the U.S. has far fewer STEM graduates compared to other industrialized countries. In 1999, only 7% of the 868,000 bachelor level engineering degrees worldwide were earned in the U.S. In China 75% of bachelors degrees are in STEM fields compared to 33% in the U.S. The U.S. comes in 17th place on an international comparison of STEM degrees awarded to undergraduates.
6. Foreign STEM graduates are working less in the U.S. due to increased immigration regulations and increased resources in their countries of origin. In 2001, 40% of STEM graduate students were not U.S. citizens. In 2004, colleges reported seeing a decline in foreign student applications.
7. The most recent STEM reform efforts reflected in the National Science Education Standards and the National Council on Teaching Mathematics Standards have been partly successful (scores on NAEP and TIMSS have increased) but did not incorporate business and higher education partnerships into their frameworks.
8. Partnerships can take on many different forms as well as have different impact and commitment levels. These include special services, enrichment, systemic improvement, and policy.
The following information is from NSF’s 2005 report, The Engineering Workforce: Current State, Issues, and Recommendations. Available at: http://www.nsf.gov/attachments/104206/public/Final_workforce.doc
The report came to the following conclusions:
1. Interest in engineering is declining. Although the number of engineering degrees has increased, their percentage has not kept up with the increase in total college enrollment. Thus, the percentage of students graduating with an engineering degree has decreased since the mid-1980s. Since 1991, the percentage of high school students planning on majoring in engineering has decreased. This is problematic as projected engineering growth will be strong, particularly in the areas of computer information (36%), environmental (38%) and biomedical (26%).
2. Women and minorities are significantly underrepresented in engineering. Women earned 20% of bachelors, 22% of masters and 17% of the doctorates in engineering in 2003. African Americans earned 5.1% of bachelors, 4.6% of the masters and 3.4% of the doctorates in engineering in 2003, yet they make up 12.2% of the population. Latinos earned 5.4%, 4.3% and 3.6% of bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees respectively in engineering in 2003, yet they make up 13% of the population.
3. Broadening participation will require changes in preparation for engineering study and in the culture of engineering schools. Only a small percentage of K-12 students have the math and science skills necessary for engineering study. At this age, girls have the same skill level as boys. However, for underrepresented minorities, this percentage of being prepared for engineering study is even smaller. This calls us to close the resource and achievement gaps present in the education of minority students. The culture of engineering schools should change through the diversity of the professoriate and the curriculum.
4. Diversifying the professoriate proceeds slowly, leaving students without role models. In 2003, 17% of professors of engineering were women, 2.8% were African and 3.2% were Latino. Women professors in particular were promoted less frequently.
5. The practice of engineering is undergoing significant change but the curriculum has been slow to change. Many students see the engineering curriculum as inflexible. Students must lock into a career choice early on and are given little opportunity to connect their engineering courses with other parts of the curriculum as well as see the social relevance of their engineering coursework.
6. “Commodity” engineering will be done anywhere; the U.S. advantage will be innovation and systems management. In China, Central/Eastern Europe, Russia and India, there are an increasing number of engineering graduates (500,000 in 2002) who will work for well below the median salary of a U.S. engineer.
Sources and Recommended Reading:
1. To understand the crisis in STEM education and its relationship to business and higher education download the report: Business-Higher Education Forum. (2005). A Commitment to America’s Future: Responding to the Crisis in Mathematics and Science Education. Available at http://www.bhef.com
2. For an overview of the National Science Education Standards, the current reform in Science Education and the way that research indicates science should be taught go to http://www.nsta.org/standards
3. For an overview of the National Council on Teaching Mathematics Standards, the current reform in Math Education and the way that research indicates Math should be taught go to http://www.nctm.org/standards