Federal

Computer Tool Sizes Up Math, Science Policies

By Sean Cavanagh — July 08, 2009 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Can a computer simulation help guide the United States toward producing more and better-qualified math and science students?

A team of engineers from the Raytheon Co. thinks so. Today, after three years of work, they join business and education supporters in unveiling a “simulation and modeling” computer tool designed to crunch vast amounts of data about students, teachers, and the workforce, and evaluate various mathematics and science education policies.

Called the “U.S. STEM Education Model,” the tool relies on complex algorithms and allows users to gauge the impact of policies while adjusting for more than 200 individual variables in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or “STEM” education.

Those variables include class size, teacher turnover, gender differences, and teacher salaries, as well as data from scholarly studies that have been put into the system. The tool is free and available for downloading online, though it requires simulation software.

The simulation-and-modeling tool, while complex, is meant to provide scholars, state and federal policymakers, and others with a way to study the effects of past, current, and future policies, said Brian H. Wells, Raytheon’s chief systems engineer, who helped develop the system. Initially, it was meant to focus on how to increase the number of STEM college graduates, though it has clear applications for K-12 and the workforce, too, he noted.

The model is not meant to provide definitive solutions, but rather help policymakers “think through the problem,” Mr. Wells said in an interview. “The model can help you discover unintended consequences.”

For example, a recent test-run of the model examined a popular policy suggestion: that raising teacher salaries will draw more top-notch teacher-candidates to classrooms, as opposed to having them take potentially more lucrative jobs in the private sector. The model found that when businesses began losing well-qualified workers, they adjusted by raising salaries in an attempt to lure them back, which “counteracted” the initial policy, Mr. Wells said. He cautioned that many factors in the model could be adjusted to produce a different result.

Crunch the Data

Raytheon, a major defense contractor headquartered in Waltham, Mass., began developing the model three years ago under the direction of the company’s chairman and chief executive officer, William H. Swanson. The company assigned a team of engineers to work on it.

It released the model to the public at an event here today, at which time Raytheon also officially turned the tool over to the Business-Higher Education Forum, an education advocacy organization based in the nation’s capital that represents business ceos and university and foundation leaders.

As policymakers across the country debate STEM education policy, the modeling tool attempts to nudge the discussion away from anecdotes toward data, said Brian Fitzgerald, the executive director of the Business-Higher Education Forum.

“It takes the politics out of it,” Mr. Fitzgerald said. “You can love a program, but this could show that its impact is relatively slight over time.”

The modeling tool already includes data sets that allow for comparisons of the cost effectiveness and the overall impact of diverse policies aimed at encouraging more students to enter and stick with STEM studies and fields, Mr. Fitzgerald said. Those efforts include mentoring and social-networking programs.

Mr. Fitzgerald believes the tool will reveal that many policies for increasing the number of highly qualified K-12 and college students in STEM, and finding a place for them in the job market, are interconnected.

“You need an integrated K-12 and higher-ed. strategy,” Mr. Fitzgerald said. “You can’t solve the STEM teacher-workforce problem without solving the STEM-workforce problem.”

A version of this article appeared in the July 15, 2009 edition of Education Week as Computer Tool Sizes Up Math, Science Policies

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Rethinking STEM Assessment: Strategies for Administrators
School and district leaders will explore strategies to enhance STEM assessment practices across their district, within schools and classrooms.
Content provided by Project Lead The Way
Federal Webinar Keeping Up with the Trump Administration's Latest K-12 Moves: Subscriber-Exclusive Quick Hit
EdWeek subscribers, join this 30-minute webinar to find out what the latest federal policy changes mean for K-12 education.
Artificial Intelligence Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: Math & Technology: Finding the Recipe for Student Success
How should we balance AI & math instruction? Join our discussion on preparing future-ready students.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Federal Trump Admin. Adds Project 2025 Author to Education Department Staff
The appointment comes as Trump has already begun to embrace plans outlined in the controversial 900-page conservative policy agenda.
4 min read
A copy of Project 2025 is held during the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 21, 2024, in Chicago.
A copy of Project 2025 is held during the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 21, 2024, in Chicago. The Trump administration has added the author of the conservative policy document's chapter on education to the U.S. Department of Education's staff.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Federal Trump Admin. Pauses Ed. Dept. Layoffs After Judge's Order
The U.S. Department of Education is slowly complying with a federal court order to reinstate staff.
3 min read
Phil Rosenfelt, center, an attorney with the Office of the General Counsel at the Department of Education, is greeted by supporters after retrieving personal belongings from the Education Department building in Washington on March 24, 2025.
Phil Rosenfelt, center, an attorney with the office of general counsel at the U.S. Department of Education, is greeted by supporters after retrieving personal belongings from the Education Department building in Washington on March 24, 2025, the last day of work for hundreds of agency employees. The Trump administration has had to bump back the day it planned to stop paying laid-off staff.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
Federal Tutoring, After-School, and Other Student Services at Risk as Trump Cuts AmeriCorps
Deep cuts to programs across the federal government have left students without programming they'd come to count on.
8 min read
Members of the City Year program work at Isaac Newton Middle School for Math and Science in East Harlem during the MLK Day of Service on Jan. 20, 2025, in New York City.
Members of the City Year program work at Isaac Newton Middle School for Math and Science in East Harlem during the MLK Day of Service on Jan. 20, 2025, in New York City. City Year places AmeriCorps volunteers in underserved schools, but cuts to the federal service agency have led City Year to scale back some of its AmeriCorps volunteer-powered programs.
Courtesy of City Year New York
Federal Republicans Press Top Ed. Dept. Nominees to Commit to Trump's Agenda
Penny Schwinn and Kimberly Richey appeared before lawmakers for leadership in the department.
6 min read
Deputy Secretary of Education nominee Penny Schwinn, left, and Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights nominee Kimberly Richey prior to testifying before the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee about their nominations for the Department of Education in Washington, D.C., on June 5, 2025.
Penny Schwinn, left, and Kimberly Richey speak prior to testifying before the U.S. Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee in Washington on June 5, 2025. Schwinn is President Donald Trump's nominee to serve as deputy secretary in the U.S. Department of Education. Richey is Trump's nominee to lead the department's office for civil rights.
Jason Andrew for Education Week