Education

In a high stakes competition, what team would deliberately put itself at a disadvantage? Americans must confront a similar question as we consider our path forward in the 21st century. Many of the best jobs and our ability to compete in a global marketplace are linked to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields. Workers in STEM earn on average 26 percent more than their non-STEM counterparts. Moreover, job openings in STEM occupations outnumber unemployed workers by nearly 2 to 1.   

Knowing this, why do we consciously put our nation at a disadvantage by failing to provide a strong STEM education for as many students as possible? By failing to improve access to STEM, especially for under-represented groups such as girls and minorities, we are compromising the ability of our youth to compete for the jobs of tomorrow. The latest available research shows that in 2005, only 5.1 percent of science and engineering jobs were held by African-Americans and 5.2 percent were held by Hispanics. In addition, a 2012 report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research showed that women’s participation in STEM fields has actually declined. Women earning associate degrees or certificates in STEM fields dropped from 33.8 percent in 1997 to 27.5 percent in 2007.

Evidence that shows the United States leaves alarming numbers of students behind came to light in the Trends in International Math and Science Study. U.S. students in fourth and eighth grades lagged their counterparts in more than half a dozen nations in Asia and Europe. While average scores of American students were not much lower than averages in higher ranked nations, the 2011 study revealed a huge difference in the proportion of U.S. students who scored at the highest levels. Only 7 percent of U.S. students achieved at advance levels in eighth grade math. That compares to 47 percent of eighth graders in South Korea and 48 percent of eighth graders in Singapore. We know how to close the STEM achievement gap. We need to act now.  

Ever since the Virginia Company was founded in Jamestown in 1607, America has been the land of opportunity for generations of immigrants, who often risked everything to strive for their American Dream. America must continue to be a magnet for the best minds in the world to come here for the freedom to compete, innovate and grow our economy.

A recent survey of over 1,100 manufacturing executives by the National Association of Manufacturers’ Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte shows that 67 percent of manufacturing companies face a “moderate to severe” shortage of qualified workers. Four major high-tech companies – IBM, Intel, Microsoft and Oracle – say they have a combined 10,000 job openings in the United States alone. In Congressional testimony, Rick Stephens, senior vice president at Boeing, related that fewer than 5 percent of graduates from American colleges and universities attain engineering degrees, compared with about 20 percent in Asia.

Small businesses expect direct decisions and actions from Congress this year. We expect Congress to carry out the people’s business in an orderly fashion. On the surface this seems peripheral to business, and that specific bills or budgets should be the order of the day; however, those bills that come up to Congress that seem to be socially weighted dramatically effect small businesses. Should the government act on banning assault rifles? Maybe, but there is more than the gun industry that is affected by this decision. Many school districts are scrambling to find budgets for additional private security, and one issue facing them is imminent need, and with the assault rifle being viewed as a direct threat, you can bet local authorities are developing budgets and asking for federal assistance to hire companies.

“Work hard. Earn good grades. Make it to college.”

From the time students enter elementary school, they hear this simple formula for earning a steady income and meaningful work.

Yet, for millions of young Americans, this formula increasingly leads to limited opportunity and mountains of debt. With student loan debt surpassing $1 trillion and unemployment rates for recent graduates lingering near painful post-2008 heights, student debt has become a serious burden on our national economy and on young lives.

Can our country be competitive without skilled technology workers?  Can we sustain our technical creativity without individuals who are trained in the technical areas? The reply to such questions is always a resounding "No!" And when we ask if all possible workers are included, the answer is also "No!"

The status of women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) is important for the economic, social, entrepreneurial and political advantage of the United States.

Creative, out-of-the-box thinking and collaborative problem-solving are concepts synonymous with Silicon Valley. They are attributes that power our industry, motivate our work ethic and define our can-do spirit. Ironically, these skills are often missing when it comes to educational policies and mandates imposed on our local public schools. The result: It is not perceived as a priority for the future workforce of America.
 
We hear time and again from our local business and community leaders that local jobs go unfilled by local talent because they can't find people with the required education and skills to perform these duties. These jobs run across the spectrum: from technicians with a trade school certificate to engineers with a master's degree.
 
That is why we've been pushing an agenda based on teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM.
 
We believe that students in our local schools, who have been exposed to a rich diet of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, will have the foundational knowledge and skills to flourish in the classroom and beyond.

This summer, millions of students might see the interest rate double on their student loans unless Congress takes action. Doubling of the interest rate will cost the average college student about $1,000 more per year of school.
 
Think you’re having déjà vu? Last summer, Congress narrowly stopped interest rates from doubling. One year later, here we are facing the same crisis. This time around, students and taxpayers need a strong long-term solution that makes the student loan system more effective and affordable for students and families.

It’s widely recognized that the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has seriously failed to achieve its goal of raising virtually all public school students, especially the disadvantaged, to academic proficiency. The Obama administration, responding to widespread opposition to key NCLB accountability mandates, has now waived them for most states. But to qualify for waivers, states must agree to implement the administration’s requirements instead.

This week, members of the Association for Private Sector Colleges and Universities (APSCU) are visiting Capitol Hill, hoping to put a good face on the for-profit college industry. No doubt APSCU leaders are touting the academic and vocational courses they offer and the successes of their students. They are probably plugging the special programs created for active-duty military, veterans and their families.
 
However, there are many facts they don’t bother telling Congress. Among them: taxpayers spend twice as much to send a veteran to a for-profit college than they do to a public or non-profit college. For-profit colleges have collected nearly one-third of all Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits ($1.6 billion). And, many for-profit schools’ earnings continue to come almost entirely from federal funds.

During the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, Intel founder and CEO Andrew Grove used to say that a green card should come stapled to every science Ph.D. awarded in the United States. Grove, an immigrant from Hungary, was hardly joking. At a time when companies were scrambling for talent, foreign-born scientists and engineers were a key to filling the gap and helping companies in America compete globally and create good U.S. jobs. Fifteen years later they still are.