NASA Urged to Improve K-12 Education Programs

Despite its vital interest in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills of American students, the U.S. space agency is not reaching its potential as a resource for bolstering performance in those so-called STEM fields in K-12 schools, a new congressionally mandated report concludes.

The report by the National Research Council says the National Aeronautics and Space Administration lacks a coherent overall plan—or adequate budget—for evaluating its elementary and secondary projects, which are woven throughout a wide range of scientific and exploration programs.

A committee of scientists and educators commissioned by the NRC, a research branch of the federal National Academy of Sciences, spent a year examining NASA’s efforts in elementary and secondary education, a task panel members said was hampered by “instability in the program and lack of rigorous...