STEM Education Coalition Statement on Student Success Act
To All House Offices:
The STEM Education Coalition has issued the following statement on House consideration of the Student Success Act (H.R. 5):
“STEM education is closely linked with our nation’s prosperity in the modern global economy and our nation’s future depends on elevating STEM education as a national priority through education reforms, policies to drive innovation, and federal and state spending priorities. The Student Success Act lacks a strong STEM education focus and would eliminate the Math and Science Partnership program at the Department of Education, the sole program at the Department focused exclusively on teacher professional development in STEM subjects. Further, it does not establish any significant linkage between teacher quality initiatives and workforce needs and does not promote high-quality standards in STEM subjects that are aligned with the knowledge and skills needed to be college and career ready. Our Coalition cannot support the Student Success Act.”
Why is STEM Education a National Priority?
Council on Foreign Relations: “60 percent of U.S. employers are having difficulties finding qualified workers to fill vacancies at their companies.”
Change the Equation: “In the current overall employment market, unemployed people outnumber job postings 3.6 to one. In the STEM occupations, job postings outnumbered unemployed people by 1.9 to one.”
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices: “At all levels of educational attainment, STEM job holders earn 11 percent higher wages compared with their same-degree counterparts in other jobs.”
Georgetown Center for Education and the Workforce: “47 percent of Bachelor’s degrees in STEM occupations earn more than PhDs in non-STEM occupations.”
Further facts and statistics outlining the case for STEM education, good jobs, and U.S. competitiveness.
Respectfully,
-James and Jodi
James Brown
Executive Director
STEM Education Coalition
jfbrown@stemedcoalition.org
www.stemedcoalition.org
(202) 400-2192
Jodi Peterson
Chair, STEM Education Coalition
Assistant Executive Director, Legislative and Public Affairs
National Science Teachers Association
(703) 312-9214
jpeterson@nsta.org
www.nsta.org
www.stemedcoalition.org
