The struggle to find employees with the indispensable technical and critical problem-solving skills has become increasingly complicated. The H.R. 1020 offers a solution to promote these skills into the working class field, inclusively the educators who will teach the generation of tomorrow. The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is prime evidence that we need STEM education to widen across the nation. It is an international assessment that measures students ' reading, mathematics, and science literacy skills and is taken every three years. Sadly, results seem to be plummeting, for example in 2009 the U.S. ranked 24 in math and 19 in science. Now, in the most recent assessment, 2012, we are now in 29th place in math and …show more content…
Representative Rep. John Kline (R) is openly opposed to this act, he said, “the government already had more than 200 STEM education programs, and creating a new program would only add to the STEM bureaucracy (Dykes)”. About 1,169 million dollars have been estimated the cost of renewing the STEM Act and enforcing it to play. The question here, is it worth it, will there be more costly issues as a cause, and more importantly is it a real problem, according to Rep. Lamar Smith and his cosponsors, it is. Similar STEM programs have approved and according to Rep. Gowdy, it has had little effect on education for both students and teachers because few learn how to apply it to the real world.
A legislators duty when opening up a new policy is to determine if the problem is real, that if no action is to be taken, will the problem cause a financial, social, educational, or moral effect? From there they continue and figure if there will be any problems submerging if we do sign on a policy solution. Thus, is the problem on education real, and if so, will the STEM Education Act be the precise solution? The problem that the STEM policy is trying to solve is jobs that are in abundance in America, but qualifications are too high for many citizens. Therefore, H.R. 1020 wants to start from the beginning, trying to improve the cycle that many if not all the kids face, the classroom.
The STEM plan will cover from toddlers to civil engineers,
Another issue with the law is that the federal government is taking a much more active role in public elementary and secondary education than in past years. In my opinion the federal government should not play a major role in our education system, but according to NBC news reporter Ellis, Rehema “The critics say, the devil is in the detail” (NBC news) The government is funding billions of dollars on the No Child Left Behind Act each year, when statistics are clearly showing that the good intention of the law is not working like it should. In my opinion, teachers’ annual income should be reviewed and increased, federal funding should be invested in better schools, and the increase of technology should be accessible for every classroom in order to
Science education has been a controversial topic among employers and schools for years. Employers are requesting more STEM graduates yet the schools are unable to keep up with the rising demand. Unemployment rates continue to go up while positions in the science, technology, and engineering fields have remained open and unfulfilled. STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education is vital to the position of the United States in the world standings in STEM research and design. Currently 3 of the 5 top positions in STEM research are held by Asian countries and sadly the United States doesn’t even fall in the top 10 for the list. There was once a time when the United States led the world in STEM research, but times have
Not only do students lose opportunity in learning from these areas, but the law is also underfunded which the defeats the purpose as well as contradicting itself in the sense that students won’t be achieving the goals set by this law. By 2011, more than 50% of schools were labeled “failing”, and lawmakers saw the need for a change, but weren’t able to produce a bill. That year, the Obama administration offered states a reprieve from many of the law’s mandates through a series of
"While NCLB seeks to improve the education of all children--with an emphasis on children from low-income families--IDEA focuses on the individual child and seeks to ensure specialized services for children with disabilities so that they may benefit from education" (Exceptional Parent p70). A student's Individual Education Plan (IEP) team decides whether or not to put the student in general or special education programs. However, if the IEP team decides not to put the student in general assessments they must explain their reasoning and provide an alternate assessment for the student (Exceptional Parent p70). The national government's attempts to improve education through these programs have not only been successful, but they have also started new ideas to build on. On August 9, 2007 President Bush passed a new act into law that will provide a vast amount of funding for scientific education (BioScience p654). "The Senate and the House of Representatives passed legislation authorizing $43.3 billion for science and science education programs." The passing of America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act (America COMPETES), known as HR 2272, is the result of the legislation that has been running through Congress for the past 1.5 years (BioScience p654). The given purpose for America COMPETES is to act as a response to the
Several years later in 1958, the National Defense Education Act contributed additional federal dollars to the schools to raise awareness and to heighten the fundamental importance and priority to focus on STEM. STEM provides instructions in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. During this time, emphasis was also placed on strengthening the foreign languages and provided financial resources and support
STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematic) includes some of the most versatile and important careers in the modern world. Most new developments that are making the world a better place to live are from the influences of STEM fields. As the world becomes more technologically developed there is an increase demand for students well-trained in the STEM related fields. To keep pace with this rapidly expanding area of the economy requires an adequate number of P-12 teachers with the necessary content knowledge and skills to train the next generation. Currently, Texas is facing a critical shortage of teachers with strong backgrounds in STEM. This STEM teacher shortage is impacting student learning and if too many teachers pursue degrees
Michael S. Teitelbaum argues in his report, “ The Myth of the Science and Engineering Shortage” that while it may be true that there is an increase in STEM jobs in the US, the fact is for the majority of STEM jobs the wages have been stagnant or declining, indicating that there is no demand for STEM graduates. Teitelbaum continues by stating that it is very simple to claim there is a shortage in STEM by hand-picking specialized fields in STEM that may currently have a shortage due to location and specific years, as a result of changing technology, But to state that all STEM related occupations are experiencing a shortage because a few specialized fields are experiencing a shortage is dangerous as it paints a false a narrative of reality to pursuers’ of STEM degrees. In addition when comparing the unemployment rate of occupations such as registered nurses, physicians, dentists, and lawyers to occupations in STEM, that proponents of STEM have valiantly claimed are experiencing a massive shortage, the unemployment for STEM occupations is staggering. With recent graduates suffering the most with unemployment rates in engineering and computer science above seven percent, as well as an unemployment rate hovering slightly below twelve percent for graduates in information systems ( Teitelbaum). Teitelbaum states that while it may be true that the US is consistently scoring in the middle in international assessments, they are still producing a third of all high-performing students in science and fourteen percent of high-performing students in math. In addition, he states he is not against the push for science and math, as he believes all high school students should be adept in both, but that there is “a big disconnect between this broad educational imperative and
Evaluation is vital to education, whether it is a new reform or a back to basics approach. STEM education remains open to interpretation. Drew states that the quality and efficacy of programs across the United States require quantitative and qualitative evaluations (2011). These studies should include the long-term benefits of grant funding and best practices for sustaining effective STEM programs when the grants and funds from corporate sponsors terminate (Johnson, 2014). Ultimately, the evaluation and research requires dissemination to schools across the country in order to affect the necessary reforms.
By the year 2020, the Hispanic population in Texas will outnumber the non-Hispanic White population (Petter and Hoque, 2013). However, Hispanics do not play a significant role in the STEM workforce (Robinson, 2007). The drastically low number of Hispanic students with a STEM degree only represent 5% of the total STEM workforce (Clewell, 2006; Malcolm, 2010; Arcidiacono, Aucejo, & Hotz, 2013). To further amplify the situation, 25% of jobs created over the next six years will require a bachelor’s degree (Strong American Schools, 2008).
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), was revamped in 2001 as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Due to the time period of the inception and now, there is a pressing need for reform. Even when the law expired four years ago, Congress continued to update the out of date NCLB Act was never seriously considered by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce until now. Since the Republicans assumed control of the House of Representatives, they have created and passed a series of reaffirmation bills out of the particular committee such as the Empowering Parents through Quality Charter Schools Act, which passed through the House of Representatives with a great bipartisan majority. This bill is part of the attempt to reform the outmoded NCLB Act.
The No Child Left Behind Act also has a very narrow focus on curriculum. The act focuses on just math and reading scores. This could have an undemocratic effect on a large generation of students in poorly performing schools. Schools would have take away much of the broad education in order to elevate scores on just two subject areas. Students in wealthy schools with good test scores will continue to learn a full range of subjects including art, social studies and science, while the students who scored poorly on the tests, will be receiving education in only two subject areas. It is not right to put two subjects as the top priority. This means that not all students will get a complete education. This concern with literacy and math skills divides
In 2005, the three reports entitled Innovative America, Tapping America’s Potential, and Rising Above the Gathering Storm, argue that if the U.S. does not improve its science technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education the standard of living in the U.S. may decrease and threaten the economy and national security. The reasoning that the proponents use is that with more innovation and technological advancements, exports will increase and benefit the economy, but if there is no innovation this will harm the economy. The three reports, according to the Congressional Research Service, argue that in order to prevent these issues, we must close the academic achievement gaps in STEM, improve the quality of teachers, increase STEM labor supply, improve on international ranking assessments, produce more STEM degrees, and increase the number of H-1B visas issued. One of the most controversial subjects of the STEM movement is that companies are using H1-B visas to employ foreigners at cheaper rates rather than U.S. citizens. However, critics of the STEM movement argue that this is a strategic idea called “Brain Drain” where the U.S. is “draining” the most talented and skilled workers from other countries in order to gain an advantage on a global stage. In order for the U.S. to remain a leader in innovation and STEM education, the issue of H1-B visas needs to be addressed.
This bill is necessary because schools have remained unchanged since many generations past, despite how people in the present doesn’t think the ways that were taught in the past applies the same way to now. In a conversation with Ken Robinson, he had quoted that, “You know, for my generation—I was born in 1950—we were told that if you worked hard, went to college, and got a regular academic degree, you'd be set for life. Well, nobody thinks that's true anymore, and yet we keep running our school systems as though it were. So many people have degrees now
John is an international student that recently enrolled into the univeristy of southamptom . john has barely used a virutal learning environement before , so he normally depends on google searches to find important information for his assigment . google searches don’t normally give him the answers he wants directly which means he spends extra time searching for sources that are credible which makes his search more time consuming . john would like an application to helps him get answers to his assignment faster .
STEM education was designed to encourage student interest and to prepare for a career path in STEM, research suggests that STEM-related careers generate higher compensation and financial benefits. However, the design and composition of the STEM workforce is complex and is influenced and relies heavily on the delivery of each STEM program. Recognizing the importance of this, this proposed summative evaluation is geared to understand to what extent does the inquiry- and design-based model used by the nCase program activities yield expected changes and learning outcomes in participants. The evaluation will investigate components of the nCase program that are optimally performing and should be reproduced in future initiatives.