Opinion
College & Workforce Readiness Opinion

We Must Create Opportunities for STEM Learning

By Sara Martinez Tucker — May 14, 2013 4 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Our country is in trouble. That’s the key takeaway from my experience as the undersecretary in the U.S. Department of Education. We have been inching along in math and science while other countries are speeding forward. The United States ranked 25th in math and 17th in science in the 2009 Program for International Student Assessment.

Education outcomes such as these mean our country’s businesses will have a tough time finding American workers who have the math and science skills to carry out the jobs of today, much less tomorrow. A 2011 Manpower survey found that more than half of American employers were struggling to find workers to fill key jobs that required advanced science and math skills. Case in point: The CEO of Siemens reported his company had more than 3,000 U.S. job openings, but only 10 percent of the applicants were able to pass the test for prospective employees. In other words, 90 percent of the applicants didn’t have the schooling to do the job.

The prestigious President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, or PCAST, estimates that our country needs to graduate about 1 million more professionals in science, technology, engineering, and math over the next decade to stay competitive globally. And yet degrees in the STEM fields account for only 17 percent of all degrees awarded in the United States, compared with the international average of 26 percent.

While African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans make up a third of the U.S. population, they represent only 9.1 percent of college-educated Americans in the science and engineering workforce. Women are also severely lacking in the STEM workforce. Fewer than 10 percent of U.S. engineers are female, even though women constitute almost half the nation’s labor force.

BRIC ARCHIVE

We’ve got a lot of work to do. Our country is just beginning to wake up to the fact that growth in STEM jobs is three times faster than in other sectors. Students who are facing the job search are getting the message that STEM workers earn 26 percent more on average than their non-STEM counterparts. What all students need is the kind of K-12 education that will equip them to succeed in college and go on to earn a living wage.

How can we get this done? The message from the statistics is clear: We’ve got to make math and science amazing and accessible for more young people. We’ve got to revitalize STEM studies for our country to grow and maintain its global economic standing.

I have seen the phenomenal progress that the National Math and Science Initiative has made since it was launched in 2007 by leaders in business and science. The initiative is raising the academic bar in our public schools. More than 60,000 teachers have received personalized, intensive training so they can raise the level of rigor in their classrooms and have more students succeeding in math and science. More than 462 high schools are expanding Advanced Placement classes so that more students can master college-level work.

We've got a lot of work to do. Our country is just beginning to wake up to the fact that growth in STEM jobs is three times faster than in other sectors."

As the president and CEO of NMSI, I’m particularly heartened that qualifying scores for African-American and Hispanic students in the schools participating in our Advanced Placement program are averaging a 107 percent increase in AP math, science, and English the very first year. And that’s eight times the national average, according to the College Board.

Finally, the initiative is expanding the University of Texas’ UTeach teacher-preparation program, which has recruited more than 6,000 high-achieving math and science college students into the teaching field at 35 universities across the country. And a new $21.25 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute will make it possible to expand the UTeach program into 10 major research universities at the start of 2014.

The individual success stories behind these numbers are also encouraging:

• Alejandra Munoz spoke no English when she arrived in Connecticut from Chile. She mastered eight AP courses and was accepted to the biomedical engineering program at the University of Connecticut.

• Hannah Barber grew up loving horses and math in Oklahoma. When she’s not tackling stats and calculus in NMSI’s AP program in Oklahoma, you can find her volunteering in a wildlife refuge and a therapeutic-riding program. Her dream is to earn an engineering degree to improve the environment.

• Rudy Davis came from a single-parent home in Alabama and worried that college might be out of reach because of his socioeconomic circumstances. As a result of the support from the initiative’s AP program, he succeeded in 10 AP courses, raised his grades from the 68th to 97th percentile, and earned enough scholarships to major in biomedical science at Auburn University.

There are millions more like Alejandra, Hannah, and Rudy who deserve a realistic shot at success. Our collective goal should be to reach them by taking these and other programs like them to the next level of expansion, to inspire more students, train more teachers, and transform more schools. We must work together now to regain our competitive edge and ensure that all students have the opportunity to prosper in a global economy.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the May 15, 2013 edition of Education Week as We Must Create Opportunities for STEM Learning

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
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in Schools
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by Panorama Education
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
Science Webinar
Spark Minds, Reignite Students & Teachers: STEM’s Role in Supporting Presence and Engagement
Is your district struggling with chronic absenteeism? Discover how STEM can reignite students' and teachers' passion for learning.
Content provided by Project Lead The Way
Recruitment & Retention Webinar EdRecruiter 2025 Survey Results: The Outlook for Recruitment and Retention
See exclusive findings from EdWeek’s nationwide survey of K-12 job seekers and district HR professionals on recruitment, retention, and job satisfaction. 

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

College & Workforce Readiness Q&A Graduation Rates Might Get Worse Before They Get Better
Schools must make a convincing case for why students should show up, Robert Balfanz says.
5 min read
Learning Recovery Hurdles 092023 1303680911 01
iStock/Getty
College & Workforce Readiness These Students Are the Hardest for Schools to Track After Graduation
State education chiefs are working with the Pentagon to make students' enlistment data more accessible for schools.
5 min read
Students in the new Army prep course stand at attention after physical training exercises at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C., on Aug. 27, 2022. The new program prepares recruits for the demands of basic training.
Students in the new Army prep course stand at attention after physical training exercises at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C., on Aug. 27, 2022. State education leaders are working with the Pentagon to make graduates' enlistment data part of their data systems.
Sean Rayford/AP
College & Workforce Readiness As Biden Prepares to Leave Office, He Touts His 'Classroom to Career' Work
At a White House event, the president and first lady highlighted their workforce-development efforts.
3 min read
President Joe Biden speaks at the Classroom to Career Summit in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024.
President Joe Biden speaks at the Classroom to Career Summit in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Nov. 13, 2024.
Ben Curtis/AP
College & Workforce Readiness Can the AP Model Work for CTE? How the College Board Is Embracing Career Prep
The organization known for AP courses and the SAT is getting more involved in helping students explore potential careers.
5 min read
David Coleman, CEO of the College Board, speaks at the organization's annual conference in Austin, Texas, on Oct. 21, 2024.
David Coleman, CEO of the College Board, speaks at the organization's annual conference in Austin, Texas, on Oct. 21, 2024. Long an institution invested in preparing students for college, the College Board increasingly has an eye on illuminating career options.
Ileana Najarro/Education Week