A collection of state-by-state reports on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics learning finds that in nearly every state, elementary students are getting less instructional time for science than they did in the mid-1990s, and that many students lack access to rigorous stem courses.
The statistics show, for example, that in grades 1-4 in California, the average number of hours a week spent learning science dropped from three in 1994 to 1.8 in 2008; in Maine, that figure went from 2.9 to 2.2 over the same period.
The reports were released this month by Change the Equation, a Washington-based coalition of corporate chief executives that promotes STEM education. The state reports also include scores from national assessments, the share of college graduates who earn STEM degrees, and how much advanced stem coursework the state’s science teachers took in college.
