Today, the United States is falling behind in the race to graduate students with high-level science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees to trade partners like India, China, Japan, and South Korea. According to Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat, only 5 percent of American undergraduates graduate with engineering degrees, compared with 46 percent in China. The number of American science and engineering Ph.D. recipients is shrinking as well. Meanwhile, China, India, and other countries are investing enormous resources in further developing their institutions of higher education.
In recent decades, the United States has made up for these trends by relying on foreign science and engineering students who came to America to study, but stayed to build businesses and drive innovation. Since 9/11, however, foreign students who wish to study in the United States are finding it more difficult to acquire student visas. With no alternative, they are electing to continue their educations at home. In the past five years, foreign institutions have made vast progress in the quality of their doctoral education and are now starting to compete with America's best schools. While we still have the strongest system of higher education in the world, we cannot simply assume that will always be the case. Only recently have we started to recognize our deficit in graduating science and engineering PhD's, and thus far we have done little to reverse this trend.
Last year, the federal government took a step forward in addressing these challenges when they passed the America COMPETES Act, which among other things authorizes an increase in the nation's investment in science and engineering research as well as in STEM education from kindergarten to graduate school.
State and local governments are also beginning to take dramatic steps forward. Last year, the National Governors' Association produced a report at the direction of then NGA Chair Gov. Janet Napolitano entitled "Building a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Agenda. This report identified three issues that are preventing states from having world-class STEM education systems. First, according to STEM indicators, too many high school graduates are not prepared for postsecondary education and work, evidenced by the fact that 30 percent of first-year college students are immediately placed in remedial classes. Second, there is a lack of alignment among the systems - between K-12 postsecondary skills and work expectations; between elementary, middle, and high school requirements; and between state standards and those of our international competitors. And third, the STEM teaching force is underqualified. The report recommends that governors adopt policies that will:
- Align K-12 STEM education requirements to the expectations of postsecondary education and the workplace;
- Develop statewide capacity for improved K-12 STEM teaching and learning to implement that aligned STEM education and work system; and
- Support new models that focus on rigor and relevance to ensure that every student is STEM literate upon graduation from high school and a greater number of students move onto postsecondary education and training in STEM disciplines.
Several states have made significant progress toward building STEM education systems in their states. In Arizona, Gov. Napolitano and her P-20 Council have worked closely with emerging industries in the state to define the requirements - in particular STEM requirements - for key occupations and to create recommendations for aligning the K-12 and postsecondary education system to the needs of the state's industry. In addition, the governor and legislature created a public-private partnership, Science Foundation Arizona, to meld government, industry and education into a new business model emphasizing innovation and discovery. Thus far, the Foundation has funded research in areas from cancer treatments to the creation of a brand new source of biofuel.
In North Carolina, Gov. Mike Easley launched the New Schools Project in 2004, a public-private partnership to create small high schools with an economic development theme and a focus on STEM fields. The project will help open 75 small new high schools by 2008.
Last December, Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire announced a broad Math and Science Initiative. Among the specific goals are to: recruit and train 750 new math and science teachers; establish a bonus structure for nationally certified teachers who teach math and science in challenging schools; align the state math curricula with international standards; and increase access to scholarships in STEM fields.
This year, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius included funding in her budget for the Kansas Academy of Math and Science, which will open in 2009 to make young Kansans the next generation of world-class innovators.
In Ohio, Gov. Ted Strickland applied for and received a grant from the National Governors' Association for $500,000 to fund a statewide network of regional STEM Centers that will align Ohio's various STEM initiatives and develop a more comprehensive agenda for the state. The centers will bring together experts from P-12 education, higher education, and the private sector to align STEM standards with the expectations of colleges and industries, lead professional development for teachers, conduct workshops for school leaders, and identify internships and externships for teachers and students.
Gov. Strickland has laid out five core objectives as the foundation of the state's STEM agenda:
- Developing and sustaining public-private partnerships to redesign Ohio's P-16 STEM education system;
- Aligning P-12 STEM education requirements and achievement with postsecondary and workforce expectations for such disciplines;
- Seeking innovative new standards and curriculum;
- Improving the quality of STEM educators; and
- Benchmarking the state's performance to top-performing nations in STEM achievement.
Additionally, the governor worked with the Republican state legislature to make STEM education a priority in the recently released 2008 fiscal year budget. The final budget includes a variety of incentives to improve the STEM agenda in state's education system. These incentives include:
- The Choose Ohio First program, which includes $100 million in scholarships to students who choose to study or become teachers in STEM fields;
- The Ohio Research Scholars program, which dedicates $50 million to recruit scholars tied to job creation in Ohio's regional economies;
- Five new STEM schools that will serve students in grades 6-12;
- Strengthening of existing STEM programs of excellence for both charter and public schools; and
- Streamlining of adult career technical programs (CTE) and incentives for adults to seek further work related education.
Additionally, the NAS has made two specific recommendations to improve the quantity and quality of STEM teachers that can be implemented at the state and local level. First, they recommend upgrading the skills of current teachers by offering one- or two-week summer courses to keep them up to date with their subject material and to help them exchange successful teaching practices. Second, they suggest providing local universities with grants to offer part-time master's degree programs in STEM fields for area teachers. States should consider both of these recommendations -- as well as additional compensation for participation -- as they look for ways to build vibrant scientific education programs.
One of the models for successfully increasing the number of STEM teachers is UTeach, a partnership between the University of Texas at Austin's College of Natural Sciences and College of Education and the Austin Independent School District. Since this program began in 1997, it has increased the number of certified STEM teachers in the district more than fivefold. This program offers options for undergraduates who want to receive both a bachelor's degree in a STEM field and a teaching license in four years; for college graduates who want to return to school to get their teaching certification; and for experienced teachers who want an advanced degree. Recently, both the California State University and University of California systems pledged to dramatically increase the number of credentialed math and science teachers it produces annually by 2010. The U-Cal system will adapt the UTeach model and create CalTeach.
People with engineering and mathematics degrees are a driving force for a state's economy, creating new jobs and new industries that can help employ others who do not have advanced degrees. Research and development will turn into production and exports, a fact that is vital not only to the trade balance but to the health of the American economy. If we graduate more scientists and engineers, America will reap the financial benefits of our technological superiority.
"Building a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Agenda," National Governors' Association, NGA Chair Initiative Innovation America.
http://www.nga.org/Files/pdf/0702INNOVATIONSTEM.PDF
New Schools Project
http://www.newschoolsproject.org/
UTeach
http://www.uteach.utexas.edu/
"Rising Above the Gathering Storm," National Academy of Sciences, February 2006
http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11463
New Dem of the Week, Rep. Harold Ford, Jr., April 24, 2006
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=103&subid=110&contentid=253830
Jason D. Newman
State and Local Policy Director
Democratic Leadership Council
600 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20003
(202) 546-0007
E-mail: jnewman@dlc.org
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