The document discusses the state of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education in the US compared to other countries. It notes that the US ranks low internationally in terms of STEM degrees earned and test scores. Several initiatives are highlighted that aim to improve STEM education in the US by making subjects more relevant, collaborative, and hands-on. The document advocates for increasing STEM opportunities and encouraging students to take challenging math and science courses.

1. . Internationalizing STEM (science , technology, engineering and math) education

5. By 2012, 90% of the world’s scientists and engineers will live and work in Asia (NSF Indicators 2008)

6. US schools spend an average of 90 minutes/week on science in K-8, while European, Asian and Australian schools spend an average of 300 minutes/week on science.

7. PISA 2003: US 15 Year-Olds Rank Near The End Of The Pack Among 29 OECD Countries Source : NCES, 2005, International Outcomes of Learning in Mathematics, Literacy and Problem Solving: 2003 PISA Results. NCES 2005-003

8. 2003: U.S. Ranked 24 th out of 29 OECD Countries in Mathematics Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), PISA 2003 Results , data available at http://www.oecd.org/

9. Problems are not limited to our high-poverty and high-minority schools . . .

10. U.S. Ranks Low in the Percent of Students in the Highest Achievement Level (Level 6) in Math Source : Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), PISA 2003 Results , data available at http://www.oecd.org/

11. PISA 2003: Problem-Solving, US Ranks 24 th Out of 29 OECD Countries Source : NCES, 2005, International Outcomes of Learning in Mathematics, Literacy and Problem Solving: 2003 PISA Results. NCES 2005-003

12. More than half of our 15 year olds score at problem-solving level 1 or below on the PISA Source: OECD Problem Solving for Tomorrow’s World. 2004

13. Using global problems makes science and math relevant Environmental issues-GLOBE International sporting events-Olympics Human Genome project-bioinformatics Energy exploration Disease transmission Inventions and patents Sports and recreation Medicine International competitions-science/math

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