New Report Offers Deeper Look at STEM Learning Across States

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A new set of reports from Change the Equation (CTEq) paints a wide-ranging and in-depth picture of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning in each state and the District of Columbia.  Vital Signs 2012 examines not only student performance but also access to educational opportunity and the amount of instructional support schools and teachers receive. The 51 state reports, which include never before available data, offer specific recommendations for each state to improve STEM teaching and learning in grades K-12.

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At a time when job demand in most states exceeds job growth, CTEq has found that job openings nationwide in STEM fields outnumber qualified applicants two-to-one, challenging businesses looking to hire.  Motivated by this challenge, CTEq's coalition of companies created the richest and most extensive collection of STEM learning data to guide informed educational decision-making.

The reports have found, for example, that students are spending less time learning science in many states, most states set a very low standard for proficiency in eighth grade science, and many students don't have access to rigorous STEM courses. In newly analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, 25 percent of white students, 35 percent of black students, 29 percent of Hispanic students, 21 percent of Asian students, and 44 percent of American Indian/Alaska Native students attend schools that do not offer calculus. 

CTEq CEO Linda P. Rosen said, "States are undertaking a lot of really heroic work in STEM education.  Vital Signs 2012 represents an incredible opportunity for business leaders, educators, and policymakers to accelerate this work and identify a path forward in STEM learning, and we hope that leaders will capitalize on what they learn from the data to improve STEM learning in every state.  We've come a long way, but we still have ground to cover."

About Change the Equation

Change the Equation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, CEO-led initiative that is mobilizing the business community to improve the quality of STEM learning in the United States. CTEq's coalition of members strives to sustain a national movement to improve PreK-12 STEM learning by leveraging and expanding its work focusing on three goals: improving philanthropy, inspiring youth and advocating for change.

SOURCE Change the Equation