Ensuring the Next Generation of STEM Talent through K–12 Research Programming
Labor shortages persist in the United States in a variety of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. To address these shortages, the next administration should establish a national, federally funded initiative involving the public and private sectors to develop a more robust and diverse pipeline of STEM talent. The Next Generation of STEM Talent Through K–12 Research Programming Initiative will remove significant barriers to participation in STEM careers through enhanced K–12 STEM programs such as science fairs and robotics competitions, as well as through strengthened federal support for teacher training to actively engage K–12 students in STEM research.
Challenge and Opportunity
Need for a Stronger STEM Pipeline in the United States
The 2024 Federal Strategic Plan for Advancing STEM Education and Cultivating STEM Talent from the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) notes that “The United States must “inspire, educate, train, and innovate in STEM fields and STEM careers, so that through unparalleled access and opportunity, the nation can leverage the full potential of its STEM talent and ensure the country’s national security, economic prosperity, and global competitiveness.” Indeed, a vigorous domestic STEM workforce that innovates quickly to confront national challenges is a central driver for economic growth. Yet while the number of degrees awarded in STEM fields has increased since 2000 in the United States, labor shortages persist in certain fields requiring STEM degrees. These fields include computer science, data science, electrical engineering, and software development.
Fostering STEM talent across the country “is critical both to enable all individuals to achieve their own aspirations in STEM fields and careers and to ready the nation to pursue new opportunities.” Yet, the rest of the world is outpacing the United States when it comes to upper-level STEM education. The United States awarded nearly 800,000 first university degrees (i.e., associate’s and bachelor’s degrees) in science and engineering (S&E) in 2016. However, the European Union (EU) top six countries (France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the U.K., then part of the EU) produced more than 700,000 equivalent degrees—and China 1.7 million (in 2015)—around the same timeframe. In 2020, the United States came in third in terms of the most first university degrees in science and engineering (900,000), lagging behind nations such as India (2.5 million) and China (2 million).
The data are more complex but equally worrisome at the doctorate level. As of 2019, the United States no longer awards the largest number of science and engineering (S&E) doctoral degrees of any country. It was surpassed by China, with the United States awarding 42,000 and China awarding 43,000 that year. Comparisons of doctoral-degree production in the United States with doctoral-degree production in other nations need to account for the fact that a substantial number of U.S. S&E doctorate recipients are students on temporary visas. However, many of these doctorate recipients stay in the United States for jobs after obtaining their degrees. Moreover, the United States also lags peer nations when it comes to the percentage of S&E doctorates awarded out of all doctorates awarded. This figure is 44% for the United States, behind China (nearly 60%), Sweden (55%), Taiwan (53%), India (50%), and the U.K. (48%).
We as a nation must prepare by strengthening the STEM pipeline and closing the gap between demand for and supply of STEM talent. This effort must also focus on creating a diverse and inclusive STEM talent pool. Only by drawing on the talents of all its citizens can the United States effectively maintain and grow the national innovation base that supports key economic sectors. This broader participation in STEM “fosters closer alignment between societal needs and research, enhances public understanding and trust in science, facilitates uptake of research results throughout society, and supports evidence-based policymaking.”
If the United States is to keep pace and ensure continued innovation and prosperity, it must up its game on STEM education and training. Because of the time and training required to become a scientist or engineer, this effort must begin without delay. The COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the need for a robust STEM workforce. Scientists raced to discover more about the virus itself and its impact, as well as to develop vaccines and treatments safely and in record time. Engineers designed new equipment and ways to manufacture needed personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators. Computer scientists, statisticians, epidemiologists, and big-data scientists collaborated to make sense of pandemic data and model outcomes to inform public-health policies. Similar crises will inevitably arise in the future.
Engaging Learning Experiences with Well-Trained Educators are Even More Important Because of Pandemic Learning Losses
The coronavirus pandemic led to a significant disruption in K-12 education. Even with students back in classrooms, the negative impact of this disruption is clear and will have myriad effects on the STEM talent pipeline into the future.
Chronic absenteeism nationwide (based on students missing at least 10% of a school year) surged from 15% in 2018 to 28% in 2022, showing that post-pandemic school attendance has reduced test scores. Student attendance is instrumental to their success. As absenteeism increased, test scores declined.
This standardized test score decline is seen across the globe where middle and high school students are still struggling academically in the years since the start of the pandemic. The Program for International Student Assessment, taken by 15-year-olds, found record decreases in scores between 2018 and 2022, where math scores decreased by 15 points and reading scores by 10 points. When students have fewer math skills, it reduces the number of students likely to become STEM experts, which narrows the pool of future scientists and engineers.
Students experienced years of learning loss, along with disruption to their social and emotional development. When compared to peer nations, U.S. children are not equipped with the high-level reading, math and digital problem-solving skills needed for the fastest-growing jobs especially in a global economy that is highly competitive. The most vulnerable students are also the most negatively impacted. Gaps already present in 2019 between high-poverty and higher-income school districts increased during the pandemic and have not closed.
Launching the Next Generation of STEM Talent Through K–12 Research Programming Initiative
The next administration should launch the Next Generation of STEM Talent Through K–12 Research Programming Initiative, coordinated by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) through a working group of federal agency representatives, to strengthen the STEM pipeline in the United States. The initiative would provide an additional $25 million per year for 10 years to select agencies to support K–12 research programs (such as science fairs and robotics competitions) that inspire critical thinking and encourage young people to pursue STEM careers. The new funds would also be used to train educators and community- based scientists to become K–12 research mentors, expand research programs at the local and national levels, and build an interagency tracking mechanism to coordinate and evaluate the success of these programs. These activities directly support the five interdependent pillars outlined in the Committee on STEM Education (CoSTEM) 2024 Federal Strategic Plan for Advancing STEM Education and Cultivating STEM Talent:
- STEM Engagement: Foster youth, community, and public engagement that supports inspiration and belonging, connects research and practice, and builds STEM literacy and lifelong learning.
- STEM Teaching and Learning: Improve the opportunities and outcomes for learners and educators in and across all STEM disciplines.
- STEM Workforce: Support the training and recruitment of the nation’s federal and national STEM workforce while cultivating global talent mobility and opportunity.
- STEM Research and Innovation Capacity: Drive cutting-edge STEM education research and innovation, build and advance STEM research capacity, and cultivate innovation and entrepreneurial talent development.
- STEM Environments: Remove barriers to participation and retention in STEM learning, working, and research environments
Since almost 16% of the 2.1 million federal employees in the United States occupy a STEM position, this initiative would directly benefit the Federal Government—and, by extension, U.S. civil society. Students and educators involved with this initiative would increase their awareness of Federal Government STEM occupations and develop a mental contract with participating U.S. agencies that will impact future career choices. This initiative should also involve the private sector, as many companies and their trade associations are also in need of STEM talent and lead programs that the initiative could leverage. In 2021, out of 146.4 million people ages 18 to 74 working in the United States, 34.9 million (24%) were in STEM occupations. Only the federal government has the resources and infrastructure to undertake and coordinate this public-private partnership.
Inclusivity is an indispensable aspect and opportunity of this new initiative. To foster development of STEM skills, the 2023 Progress Report on the Implementation of the Federal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Strategic Plan emphasized that “the nation must engage in a collaborative effort to ensure that everyone has access to high quality STEM education throughout their lifetimes.” Access to STEM education and representation in STEM fields is unequally distributed in the United States. Women, differently abled persons, and three ethnic or racial groups—Blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, and American Indians or Alaska Natives—are significantly underrepresented in science and engineering education and employment. In 2021, a greater share of men (29%) than women (18%) worked in STEM occupations, even though men and women represented similar proportions of the total workforce (52% men and 48% women). Similarly, Blacks/African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos make up about 28% of the overall population but only 13% of the STEM workforce. Research suggests there are many individuals—especially women, minorities, and children from low-income families—who would have developed highly impactful inventions had they been exposed to innovation in childhood. The Next Generation of STEM Talent Through K–12 Research Programming Initiative is designed to help find those “lost Einsteins”.
There also will be an emphasis placed on rural students who do not have adequate mentors and educational systems currently in place. Studies have shown that underserved minority and rural communities often do not have access to the same educational opportunities as more affluent white communities, and this impacts the careers they will pursue. The pandemic exposed the enormous gaps between the country’s poorest and wealthiest schools around access to basic technology and live remote instruction, as well as the percentages of students who teachers report were not logging in or making contact.
The Federal Strategic Plan for Advancing STEM Education and Cultivating STEM Talent cites one of its pillars as STEM Research and Innovation Capacity. Informal learning, especially participation in research programs such as science fairs or robotic competitions, is one way to inspire critical thinking in young people and foster long-term interest in STEM. Research funded by the National Science Foundation shows that participating in a science research project increases student interest in STEM careers. These competitions provide students with opportunities to create solutions to real-life problems, encouraging innovation, which is a critical component of economic growth and entrepreneurial talent development.
There is flexibility in how opportunities are delivered to students. When schools were shut down in 2020-2021, the Society for Science converted its STEM Research Grants program, an opportunity for teachers to receive up to $5,000 for classroom resources and/or transportation to research sites, to include STEM Research kits full of resources that students were able to bring home to complete STEM research outside of school. The Society for Science has continued to provide home and school options for the resources teachers receive from this program. Relatedly, the Society for Science launched a new Research at Home website to support this work.
No matter if the vehicle for delivery is from educators providing materials to be used at home or at school, success in this area requires training teachers to be effective research mentors. In line with CoSTEM’s Federal Objective for Training STEM Educators, an excellent prototype for such training is the Research Teachers Conferences run by the Society for Science. The Research Teachers Conferences convene high-school and middle school STEM research teachers annually to share best practices, troubleshoot challenges, and establish a network of support for each other. Nearly 2,000 teachers each year request the opportunity to attend these conferences, but funding for 2024 was only available for 275—highlighting the pent-up demand for STEM research training. More training is also needed to help professional scientists become more effective research mentors for K–12 students, and they, too, need training to ensure optimal effectiveness. The Next Generation of STEM Talent Through K–12 Research Programming Initiative is designed to train a collaborative community of K–12 research mentors working throughout the United States.
There are already many hands-on programs designed to increase the STEM talent pool by providing research-based and problem-solving learning opportunities to K–12 students: especially underrepresented minorities, girls, or students from rural communities. These programs range in size from small to large and in scope from local to federal. Programs are run by institutions such as nonprofit organizations, colleges and universities, scientific societies, and even industry trade associations. For example, the American Chemical Society has provided economically disadvantaged high-school students with paid summer-research internships for more than 50 years. Students participating in the internship program work under the guidance of professional scientists who have been trained to be research mentors. The Society for Science’s Advocate Program provides mentors to support underserved students in submitting research projects to science competitions. Funding for these types of K–12 STEM programs comes from a myriad of sources, including philanthropic foundations and individuals, companies, and local, state, and federal governments. But there is currently no widespread coordination among these programs or sharing of best practices. There is also little rigorous evaluation to determine program success. The Next Generation of STEM Talent Through K–12 Research Programming Initiative will provide leadership to align complementary efforts and additional funding to support assessment and scale-up of practices proven effective.
Only the federal government has the ability to accomplish the three objectives outlined above. But as the 2024 STEM Plan states, “the federal government alone cannot produce the STEM talent needed for the entire country. Multi-agency and multi-sector partnerships and ecosystem development, including with international counterparts, are necessary to achieve a vision for STEM in America.”
Plan of Action
The Next Generation of STEM Talent Through K–12 Research Programming Initiative should have four major components:
Component 1. White House leadership, coordination, tracking, and evaluation
The next president should sign an Executive Order (EO) launching a national Next Generation of STEM Talent Through K–12 Research Programming Initiative led by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). The initiative would oversee and strengthen federal support for teacher training and program development designed to actively engage students in STEM research and problem-solving.
The EO should also establish an OSTP-led working group like the Committee on STEM Education (CoSTEM), the NSTC group that wrote Charting a Course for Success: America’s Strategy for STEM Education. CoSTEM – with its mandate to review STEM education programs, investments, and activities, and the respective assessments of each, in federal agencies to ensure that they are effective – serves as a model for this initiative. While CoSTEM coordinates the interagency working groups focused on different aspects of STEM, particularly the Interagency Working Group to Engage Students where Disciplines Converge (IWGC) and the Interagency Working Group to Develop and Enrich Strategic Partnerships (SP-IWG), this new working group would coordinate relevant activities across federal agencies and their subunits, with the goal to gather the leading scientists, administrators and educators doing this work outside of federal agencies, leveraging the organizational power of the federal government to provide the resources and infrastructure to coordinate this public-private partnership.
While some federal agencies already have directly relevant programs in place, other agencies could help identify offices and programs essential to the initiative’s success. The working group should issue an open call for nonprofit organizations with expertise in research-based STEM learning and teacher/mentor training to participate as advisors to the working group. The working group could also include representatives from existing programs that help expand research-based and problem-solving STEM experiences at the K–12 level. The EO should task the working group with developing a strategic national action plan that includes metrics to monitor the initiative’s success, as well as with creating a centralized database that can track, monitor, and evaluate programs funded by the initiative. The working group should periodically report to the Executive Office of the President on the initiative’s progress.
Overall goals of the initiative would be to:
- Ensure an abundance of qualified applicants from a variety of backgrounds—including variety in gender, race, or socioeconomic status—for all STEM jobs in the United States.
- Train teachers to provide students with research-based STEM education opportunities throughout their K–12 education experiences
- Create a comprehensive database to track programs (and their participants) aligned with and/or funded by the initiative.
- Rigorously and fairly evaluate programs aligned with and/or funded by the initiative, quickly communicating evaluation findings in ways that help programs adjust to best serve students and educators.
Quantitative targets to assess progress towards these goals include:
- Improving the extent to which demographics of applicants to STEM jobs in the United States reflect demographics of the United States as a whole.
- Availability of project-based STEM learning at publicly funded K–12 schools, as well as student access to opportunities (e.g., science fairs) where they can share the results of their work.
- Grow the pool of qualified STEM research educators to 100,000 in the next 10 years, so that all schools have access to the needed number of trained educators.
Component 2. Federal budget commitments
A few agencies—such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the Department of Defense (DoD)—currently directly support aspects of this initiative. Yet at least 20 federal agencies (full list found in FAQ) and their subunits have a clear stake in developing the STEM workforce and hiring STEM graduates.
Each of these federal units will need dedicated funding to support the initiative, including by:
- Partnering with established nonprofit organizations, community colleges and universities to offer training and grants to support teachers and community scientists in becoming effective K–12 research and project mentors.
- Providing monetary awards and increased recognition opportunities for students who participate in STEM competitions.
- Executing an annual gathering on the topic of developing STEM talent through K-12 research programming where federal agencies and non-federal organizations make commitments and, starting in year two, present progress to meeting commitments and goals.
- Building an agency-wide mechanism to track outcomes of and build alumni networks for students who participate in initiative programs. Coordinate communication and additional opportunities for these alumni to ensure they remain connected and to leverage their leadership in this initiative.
- Maintaining a central database to track metrics of initiative programs.
- Recruiting exceptional STEM students into the professional federal STEM pipeline.
We estimate that an average allocation of $25 million per year for 10 years per relevant federal unit would be sufficient to get the initiative off the ground. These funds alone are not enough to develop the STEM workforce to the level needed in the United States. However, consistent federal funding for K–12 research programming (and associated teacher training) would provide a solid foundation for addressing the shortfalls outlined at the beginning of this memo. To maximize the initiative’s impact, additional funding should be allocated specifically for coordination and evaluation. Evaluations should be carried out every few years, and findings used to inform funding priorities and program structure as needed. Emphasis should be placed on allocating funds to expand access to high-quality STEM experiences for underserved and underrepresented students.
Component 3. Meaningful agency participation
The working group will identify existing federal programs that could be expanded to achieve the initiative’s goal. The working group will also identify agencies that have relevant missions but currently lack relevant programs.
Component 4. Partnership with non-federal organizations to provide programmatic content and complementary actions
The working group should partner with third-party organizations that already offer programs and resources (financial and in-kind) relevant to the initiative. These include but are not limited to:
- School-based programs.
- STEM nonprofit organizations that deliver curricula for teacher training.
- Scientific societies and trade associations.
- Post-secondary institutions such as community colleges, colleges, and universities.
- Private-sector companies.
- State and local governments.
- Philanthropic foundations organizations and individuals.
The working group itself should aim to have representatives from underrepresented groups in STEM to ensure a wide variety of voices are represented as part of the leadership of this initiative.
The next administration can use the power of the federal government to help such third-party organizations scale up and strengthen programs that have already proven effective, resulting in more teachers and scientists trained and more K–12 students able to participate in science and engineering research projects.
Precedents
The initiative outlined in this memo can and should build on multiple outstanding federal precedents. One example is the DoD’s Defense STEM Education Consortium (DSEC). The DSEC is a collaborative partnership among academia, industry, nonprofit organizations, and government that aims to broaden STEM literacy and develop a diverse and agile workforce with the technical excellence to defend our nation. Many smaller federal programs provide teacher training in various STEM fields. The next administration should leverage and potentially refocus such existing programs to emphasize critical-thinking skills and research-based programs at the K–12 level.
Conclusion
The next administration should seize the opportunity to reinvigorate the STEM talent pool in the United States by creating the Next Generation of STEM Talent Through K–12 Research Programming Initiative. The initiative will motivate participation in STEM careers by making participation in hands-on STEM research and problem-solving opportunities a standard component of K–12 education. Failure to replenish and grow our domestic STEM talent pool will lead to a decline in national innovation and economic progress and an inability to meet the moment in future times of challenge, such as a next pandemic. Only the federal government can address this need at the scale and pace needed.
Inclusivity is an indispensable aspect of this initiative. Building a robust STEM workforce in the United States requires us as a nation to draw on the talent of all Americans. The Next Generation of STEM Talent Through K–12 Research Programming Initiative will rediscover our country’s ”lost Einsteins”: the underrepresented minorities, women and underserved students from rural communities who have the capacity to deliver transformative contributions to STEM if only they were provided opportunities to do so.
This action-ready policy memo is part of Day One 2025 — our effort to bring forward bold policy ideas, grounded in science and evidence, that can tackle the country’s biggest challenges and bring us closer to the prosperous, equitable and safe future that we all hope for whoever takes office in 2025 and beyond.
The current and previous administrations have taken multiple actions that serve as a foundation for achieving the goals of Ensuring the Next Generation of STEM Talent Through K-12 Research Programming. “Agencies across the federal government are united in their commitment to developing STEM talent so that all individuals and communities can grow, aspire, and thrive, allowing the United States to reach its full potential.” While there are groups within the Federal government that are doing similar work, like the Committee on STEM Education (CoSTEM) with its mandate to review science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education programs, investments, and activities, and the respective assessments of each, in federal agencies to ensure that they are effective, this initiative is unique in that the main leadership would be a coalition of leaders and organizations outside of the government, with a government agency like OSTP coordinating, rather than CoSTEM’s focus on interagency working groups (IWGs). CoSTEM serves as a model, with the goal to gather the best of the best who are doing this work outside of federal agencies and leverage the organizational power of the government to provide the resources and infrastructure to coordinate this public-private partnership.
An outstanding example of a federal initiative that works is DoD STEM’s Defense STEM Education Consortium (DSEC). Aligned to the Federal STEM Education Strategic plan, the Defense Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Consortium (DSEC) is a collaborative partnership among academia, industry, non-for-profit organizations, and government that aims to broaden STEM literacy and develop a diverse and agile workforce with the technical excellence to defend our Nation. By addressing and prioritizing critical STEM challenges, DoD is investing in evidence-based approaches to inspire and develop the Nation’s science and technology workforce.
This multi-year effort includes elements focused on STEM enrichment programs for students and educators, STEM workforce engagement, program evaluation, and public outreach. These efforts will allow DoD to improve access for students to pursue STEM careers and consider Defense laboratories as a place of employment. Through strategic investment in STEM education and outreach activities, the effort will provide students with more exposure to educational and career opportunities, as well as DoD research. The program includes scholarships, internships/apprenticeships, teacher training, and conferences.
Yes. One example that could be adapted for K-12 are the existing programs funded by the National Science Foundation, which provides summer research experiences nationally and internationally to college students. Those programs involve partnerships with universities and non-for-profit scientific societies.
In 2022, the Department of Education launched its YOU Belong in STEM initiative to strengthen STEM education nationwide by implementing and scaling high-quality PreK through university STEM education for all, which is well aligned with the goals of this proposal. Similar programs exist in many other federal agencies, but they are not coordinated nor specifically directed to building the STEM pipeline.
Although OSTP is the obvious coordinating group, in the event it could not undertake a project of this size, the National Science Foundation in concert with the Department of Education, given its YOU Belong in STEM initiative, would be an appropriate coordinator.
A few agencies—such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the Department of Defense (DoD)—currently directly support aspects of this initiative. Yet at least 20 federal agencies and their subunits have a clear stake in developing the STEM workforce and hire STEM graduates.
While there are dozens if not hundreds of organizations doing similar types of programs, they are underfunded, uncoordinated, and under-evaluated. They are not uniformly distributed throughout the U.S., and their goals are also diffuse. Only the federal government is positioned to create the umbrella to coordinate such programs, track them, and evaluate them.
The OSTP working group would need to prioritize the number of federal agencies and choose those that have the most at stake from this proposal—agencies that specifically need STEM workforce to carry out their mission. Narrowed in this way, the number of units might drop by 50%, from 20 to 10. The working group could also focus on those agencies that currently have robust programs in the same space and build on those. For example, more money might be given to the DSEC program.
In addition, funding should be continued and increased for the National Science Foundation to evaluate these programs from a rigorous viewpoint to determine whether they are succeeding. Continued funding would be dependent on the results of these evaluations.
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