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A gap in inspiration It’s not news that the US just isn’t as good as other countries in educating its youth in STEM.


The World Economic forum ranks the US 48th in the world in the quality of its math and science education.


The National Assessment of Education Progress 2011 scores found that


28% of 4th graders, 37% of 8th graders, and 40% of high school seniors


DIDN’T MEET THE BASIC STANDARDS OF SCIENCE KNOWLEDGE demonstrating that not only are a sizable amount not making the grade, but they’re also scoring worse in science as they get older.


Even when we matched our advanced 8th graders with their international counterparts, we still only out-ranked Portugal, Greece, Turkey, and Mexico.


Why aren’t our children learning math and science?


When it comes to money, STEM sells itself. On average, STEM bachelor’s degree-holders earn 23% more and graduate-degree holders earn 12% more than their non-STEM counterparts.


In fact, this premium is realized no matter what the degree level or field! Workers with associates degrees in STEM out-earn people with bachelor’s degrees in other fields


by 63%; almost 50% of STEM bachelor’s degree holders out-earn PhDs in all other fields – in fact, they generally make half a million dollars more over the course of their lives than non-STEM degree holders. Even if you don’t have a degree in STEM, but work in a STEM field, you’ll tend to earn 30% more than non-STEM workers with a similar education. Over the last 30 years, STEM-related salaries have risen faster than all occupations except for healthcare and management. While STEM salaries have risen by 31%, non-STEM jobs have only risen 23%. So STEM workers and degree-holders make more money, and their jobs are more recession-proof than pretty much everyone else. The economy needs them, companies want them, our universities are great but elementary and high schools are uninspiring.


What’s missing?


America needs a concerted effort to make STEM fields exciting, fun, accessible, and attractive to younger generations. One of the primary vehicles for that innovation can be found in science centers, where these fields can be experienced by children in a multitude of great ways to make science, technology, engineering, and math relatable, interesting, and memorable.


The need is clear: more than half of America’s economic growth over the last 50 years is attributable to improved productivity through innovation, and we simply cannot expand our economy without the needed human resources. If we can attract more young people to STEM fields at an early age and keep them engaged through graduation, we can feed corporate America the talent it needs to keep the US at the forefront of technological and scientific innovation.


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