“Anyone who denies a child access to STEM starting in pre-kindergarten has made a career choice for that child.”
-Mark Newburn, Member, Nevada State Board of Education
STEM is everywhere around us, and STEM professionals impact almost every aspect of our lives. STEM professionals invent our medicines and smartphones, engineer and maintain our planes and bridges and design the architecture of our buildings and the Internet—all developments that continue to affect our lives.
STEM education makes today’s students—Nevada’s future workforce—flexible and comfortable with ideas, abstractions, analysis and synthesis. STEM proficiency provides the foundation for these skills and helps students build the flexibility to adapt quickly to changes in the labor market caused by frequent global economic shifts.
STEM learning develops the soft skills that are highly desirable in college and the workplace—teamwork, perseverance, communications, creative problem solving and leadership. STEM skills give our students the potential for higher salaries and job opportunities that are more secure in economic downturns. Many graduates with STEM degrees migrate to other careers such as corporate leadership, investments, pharmaceutical sales and more.
Real-world STEM experiences are highly motivating to students. Starting in preschool, these interactions can build student interest in pursuing STEM-related careers and reflect the modern world’s increasing need for multi-disciplined workers to solve today’s and tomorrow’s ever-increasing complex challenges. STEM education is also a powerful motivator for students in informal settings such as museums; outdoor programs; robotics; student competitions; and engineering, math and computer coding camps.
Quality STEM education can result in higher student achievement. School behavior improves, attendance increases, retention soars and grades increase. Students solve authentic challenges and can better understand the relevance of many of their classes and their applications in real-world challenges.
Science and STEM teaching can improve reading. As cited by Duncan, et al., “…early mathematics skills and general knowledge in science and social studies might be even more important for school achievement, not just in math and science but in reading as well. Knowledge of the natural and social worlds seems to be more predictive of reading achievement than are early reading skills.”
“In fact, many of the demanding challenges facing the country today will require advances in science and engineering, including challenges in providing health care, supplying energy, protecting the environment, ensuring homeland security, finding and providing water, and maintaining a vibrant economy.”
-Norman Augustine, Chair, Rising Above the Gathering Storm Committee
“Is America Falling off the Flat Earth?” National Academy of Sciences
What are Nevada’s STEM Challenges and Opportunities?
“Nevada’s growing STEM industries represent an important source of high-value economic activity and quality jobs for Nevadans. However, at present the state suffers not only from a critical skills gap in its workforce but also the lack of a strong pipeline system capable of preparing individuals for careers in these emergent fields.”
-Jessica A. Lee, et al., “Cracking the Code on STEM,” Brookings Institution
The majority of Nevada’s nine key industries*require STEM skills. The construction industry, although not a designated key industry, will also experience growth in northern Nevada with TESLA’s and Switch SUPERNAP’s new projects. Consequently, Nevada will experience growth in housing and other infrastructure.
Nevada has a shortage of STEM-skilled workers. Many companies report that they often cannot find all the STEM-skilled workers they need and must spend resources seeking workers from out of state. The 2014 Brookings report, “Cracking the Code on STEM: A People Strategy for Nevada’s Economy”, notes that Nevada “needs to boost the number of Nevadans who possess at least some post-secondary training in the fields of science, technology, engineering or math—the so-called ‘STEM’ disciplines.”
Nevada lacks an aligned plan for STEM education
pre-K-20. “Cracking the Code” notes that Nevada’s pre-K-12 education system is not providing basic STEM education needed to prepare students for future jobs. Most technology and fintech services seek out those with a STEM education. The Nevada STEM organization has received several inquiries from hiring companies including firms such as CBD & Smoke Shop Friendly Processors, Vitamins Merchant Services and MerchantAdvanceFinancing. “Islands of excellence” exist, but many schools lack the resources and teacher preparation to implement quality STEM education. Nevada also lacks adequate strategies and investments for clear pathways for students from high school to certificates, community college, and college/university degrees to serve Nevada’s and the nation’s workforce needs. As the Brookings Institution report notes, “At present, however, the absence of a clear statewide strategy for improving STEM education and workforce training and lack of coordination within state government pose sizeable barriers [to achieving a more diversified and more STEM-oriented economy].
Nevada needs to prepare its students for a globally competitive economy and educated society. National data also indicate a growing need for STEM-skilled workers:
- “In 2013, there were 5.7 million total postings in STEM fields. Of those, 76%, or 4.4 million, require at least a bachelor’s degree, and 41%, or 2.3 million, are entry-level jobs requiring less than 2 years of experience.”
- “There are 2.5 entry-level job postings for each new 4-year graduate in STEM fields compared to 1.1 postings for each new BA graduate in non-STEM fields.”
- “As of 2011, 26 million U.S. jobs—20 percent of all jobs—require a high level of knowledge in any one STEM field.”
- “Half of all STEM jobs are available to workers without a four-year college degree, and these jobs pay $53,000 on average—a wage 10 percent higher than jobs with similar educational requirements.”
- STEM-Oriented Metropolitan Economies Perform Strongly on Economic Indicators
- “More STEM-oriented metropolitan economies perform strongly on a wide variety of economic indicators, from innovation to employment. Job growth, employment rates, patenting, wages, and exports are all higher in more STEM-based economies. The presence of sub-bachelor’s degree STEM workers helps boost innovation measures one-fourth to one-half as much as bachelor’s degree STEM workers, holding other factors constant. Concentrations of these jobs are also associated with less income inequality.”
- “Employment in professional, scientific, and technical services is projected to grow 29%, adding about 2.1 million new jobs [by 2020]. Employment in computer systems design and related services is expected to increase 47%. Employment in management, scientific, and technical consulting services is anticipated to expand 58%.”
“What students learn about the science disciplines, technology, engineering and mathematics during their K-12 schooling shapes their intellectual development, opportunities for future study and work and choices of career, as well as their capacity to make informed decisions about political and civic issues and about their own lives…Indeed, the solutions to some of the most daunting problems facing the nations will require not only the expertise of top STEM professionals but also the wisdom and understanding of its citizens.”
-“Successful STEM Education: A Workshop Summary”
National Research Council