The Case For Being Bold - 2011 - v2 - 0

The Case for
Being Bold
A New Agenda for Business in Improving STEM Education
Frederick M. Hess | Andrew P. Kelly | Olivia Meeks

The Institute for a Competitive Workforce (ICW) is the non-profit, non-partisan, 501(c)3
affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. ICW promotes the rigorous educational
standards and effective job training systems needed to preserve the strength of America’s
greatest economic resource, its workforce.
Through its events, publications, and policy initiatives—and drawing upon the Chamber’s
extensive network of 3 million members—ICW connects the best minds in American
business with the most innovative thinkers in American education, helping them work
together to ensure the nation’s continued prosperity.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing
the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as
state and local chambers and industry associations.
© Institute for a Competitive Workforce, April 2011

The Case for Being Bold
A New Agenda for Business in Improving STEM Education
Frederick M. Hess, Andrew P. Kelly, Olivia Meeks

TABLE
OF
CONTENTS 3 Executive Summary

7 Introduction
11 A Frustrating National Legacy

15 Where Matters Stand

19 Two STEM Challenges

23 Needed: Bold Business Leadership

27 Making New Standards Count

33 Rethinking Teaching

41 School Redesign

47 Looking Forward
51 A Survey of STEM Reports

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Executive Summary
T
he United States has historically enjoyed astonishing Creating a system that encourages excellence in STEM
success on most measures of accomplishment in achievement will not be easy. On the latest international
science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), assessment, American students ranked 17th in science and
even though international assessments repeatedly suggest 25th in math. America’s high-achievers also lag, with just
that American students lag behind their peers in many 6% of American students scoring at the advanced level in
nations when it comes to science and math achievement. math, well short of the international norm. The situation is
But in an evolving world, the advantages that carried the no brighter in higher education. The National Academies
United States through the past century appear far less likely reports that the United States ranks 27th among developed
to carry it through the next. With other nations making nations on the percentage of college graduates who earn a
dramatic educational gains and challenging American degree in science or engineering.
supremacy in technology, finance, and research, our
nation’s continued success requires dramatic improvement In addressing the status quo, reformers must recognize two
when it comes to educating our youth in math and science. distinct parts to the STEM challenge. While schools must
ensure that all students have an understanding of science,
While there has been a steady supply of sensible technology, and math, the system must also provide
proposals for improving STEM education, most leave opportunities for the next generation of high-achieving
largely undisturbed the organizing assumptions of schools innovators to pursue advanced study in math and science.
designed to process the masses and educate the few. The Calls for universal STEM improvement often have not paid
familiar “nice guy” repertoire that the business community enough attention to rigor, compromising our ability to
has long embraced—partnering with existing institutions to educate high-achieving STEM students.
promote “best practices,” provide resources, and involve
corporate supporters—offers some aid but is unlikely to Fortunately, the American business community is
deliver breakthrough improvement. Simply put, remedies positioned to play a vital role in addressing both
engineered to fit comfortably within today’s system will be challenges. Business leaders are equipped to provide the
hard-pressed to fundamentally transform STEM education. kind of straight-talking leadership and relevant expertise
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that transformative STEM reform requires. With their • Shaping a high-quality, practical STEM curriculum.
enormous credibility, political heft, and ultimate role as the Because science and technology firms will be hiring
employer of America’s STEM talent, business leaders are future graduates for STEM careers, business leaders
perhaps the only major stakeholder that has the freedom, have an innate understanding of what students will
reason, and muscle to challenge a comfortable status quo need to know to be successful. Consequently, they
that universities, school boards, educators, unions, and would do well to work proactively with schools,
parents have been reluctant to change. districts, and postsecondary institutions to shape STEM
program offerings. While postsecondary institutions
What will it take for business leaders to tackle the STEM like DeVry, Indiana’s Ivy Tech, and others have actively
challenge more ambitiously? Business leaders would do used industry advisory councils to closely link programs
well to focus on specific key areas: taking full advantage to labor market needs, STEM firms should seek out
of strengthened and streamlined academic standards; opportunities to work with their local institutions in
rethinking how teachers are hired, deployed, and prepared; setting curricula and standards.
and promoting new models of schooling that can facilitate
STEM learning. In each case, business must push beyond Rethinking Teaching
the familiar talking points and challenge typical routines. • Rewriting the full-time job description. As private
sector firms know, talented STEM majors can
Making New Standards Count command a much higher wage in the private sector
• Fewer and clearer standards are only a start. The than in today’s schools. Business leaders should press
push for fewer, clearer, and more rigorous math policymakers and educators to rethink the teacher job
and science standards embodied in the Common description to take advantage of professionals who
Core State Standards is sensible and constructive. may be eager to teach but not to become full-time
But would-be reformers should also be wary of teachers. Boston-based Citizen Schools, for instance,
enthusiasts who can give the impression that new provides highly regarded after-school instruction and
standards, curricula, and tests will be sufficient career-based learning by creating opportunities for
to catalyze transformative improvement in STEM local professionals to instruct students on a part-time
education. Business leaders should regard these basis. The private sector can support such ventures
standards as a useful start, but ensure that these and permit (or even encourage) their employees to
measures do not stifle creative problem-solving or participate while supporting district efforts to adopt
efforts to promote customization. such arrangements.
• Personalizing instruction for individual needs. • Getting more value out of great teachers. While
Within the architecture of rigorous common merit pay plans are a sensible part of rewarding and
standards, there will be new opportunities to retaining excellent STEM teachers, reformers should
customize curricula and instruction. New York City’s also consider ways to more fundamentally differentiate
School of One has shown how new technologies teacher roles while permitting the best teachers to
make it possible to personalize math instruction by be more productive. Rather than ask every teacher
adopting a “customized playlist” approach in which to teach the same material to the same number of
students are assigned each day to the learning children, excellent teachers should be rewarded
objectives that are most appropriate for their level for taking on more students successfully. Business
of performance. The business community would do leaders can follow the lead of respected figures like
well to encourage and support ventures that seek Bill Gates and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan by
new ways to customize student learning to meet promoting policy changes and practices that will boost
individual needs. specialization and productivity for STEM teachers.
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• Carving new paths to teaching. Preparing STEM • Segmenting services. Schooling encompasses a vast
teachers will require more than simply tinkering with array of services, instructional responsibilities, and
today’s schools of education and licensure systems. subjects. Allowing parents, students, and schools to
High Tech High School in San Diego, for instance, “unbundle” those ingredients can make it easier to
has sidestepped the licensure hurdle by becoming a address individual needs while opening up the market
state-recognized teacher preparation institution. STEM for providers who excel in a specialized service—as
firms should continue to push for a move away from is the case with many of the providers previously
traditional licensure systems and consider creating mentioned. Business leaders can help create the
their own teacher preparation and professional conditions for a truly segmented market by supporting
development programs. new entrepreneurial ventures and by partnering with
schools and districts to provide expertise that can
School Redesign help those systems become more open to segmented
• Leveraging the power of technology. Just a few services and third-party providers.
decades ago, technological limitations meant that
students could be taught only by a teacher who was Looking Forward
physically present in their school. This was particularly Business leaders seeking a STEM revolution cannot settle
limiting for rural or urban schools, which tend to for comfortable tweaking but must embrace efforts to
have difficulty attracting enough talented STEM rethink the organization and delivery of schooling.
instructors. Today, new technologies have made it
possible to share expertise and instruction across Business can use three key strategies to play this
great distances, making dramatic advances in STEM role: through advocacy, by lending expertise, and
instruction possible everywhere. Washington, D.C.– by partnering with institutions or pursuing market
based SMARTHINKING, Inc., and New York–based opportunities. First, business leaders are well-positioned
Tutor.com, for example, use tutors from around the to be effective champions for accountability, flexibility,
globe to provide real-time, intensive instruction and dynamic redesign. Second, business can play
to students 24 hours a day, seven days a week. a critical role by lending sorely needed expertise in
Business leaders can support efforts to leverage new areas like performance evaluation, human resources,
technology in this fashion while working to remove information technology, and data systems. Third,
policy barriers and routines that impede such efforts. business is positioned to partner with a variety of
innovative entities to model breakthrough possibilities,
• Reimagining the schoolhouse. Unwinding the DNA promote smart rethinking, and lend critical support.
of schooling into more granular strands makes it
possible to more effectively identify and address Too often, STEM reform has entailed well-intentioned
distinctive educational needs. Rather than simply try efforts to superimpose good ideas on a rickety, aged
to run better schools, it is worth fostering providers set of institutions and organizations. If today’s earnest
that specialize in delivering top-notch science or efforts are to deliver more than that, then good intentions
math instruction—and retooling the schoolhouse and thoughtful proposals must be joined by a fierce
to make that more feasible. For example, high- commitment to remaking America’s schools and school
performing San Jose-based Rocketship Education systems for the 21st century.
doesn’t just try to offer better teachers or instruction;
rather, it has developed a hybrid model that
blends traditional classroom instruction, real-
time assessments, and customized, supplemental
instruction in computer-based “learning labs.”
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“Everybody in this room understands that our

nation’s success depends on strengthening
America’s role as the world’s engine of
discovery and innovation. And all the CEOs
who are here today understand that their
company’s future depends on their ability
to harness the creativity and dynamism
Introduction
and insight of a new generation. And that
leadership tomorrow depends on how we
educate our students today—especially in
science, technology, engineering, and math.”1
—President Barack Obama, 2010
1 Press release, “Remarks by the President at the

Announcement of the ‘Change the Equation’ Initiative,”
September 16, 2010. Available at www.whitehouse.gov/the-
press-office/2010/09/16/remarks-president-announcement-
change-equation-initiative.
S
ince its founding, the United States has taken other countries when it comes to science and math
pride in the scientific and technological prowess achievement. We are arguably just as far behind when it
of its citizens. The personal triumphs of Eli comes to high achievers—just 6% of American students
Whitney, Henry Ford, and Bill Gates have become public perform at the “advanced” level in math on the Program
testimonies to the vitality of the American people. for International Student Assessment (PISA) exam—a
On most measures of accomplishment in science, level far below that of many other advanced nations.
technology, engineering, and math (STEM), the United
States has historically enjoyed astonishing success. The When it comes to higher education, while America’s
nation boasts the world’s best research universities, universities are centers of groundbreaking research
and they house more Nobel Prize–winning scientists and innovation, they fail to produce enough STEM
than any other country, while our advances in medical graduates to fill employer demand. In 2010 the
research and technology have improved peoples’ quality National Academies ranked the United States 27th
of life all over the world. U.S. technology firms have led among developed nations on the proportion of college
the revolution in how the world communicates, does graduates with a degree in science or engineering.2
business, and provides for health and nutrition. When surveyed, American business leaders often report
shortages of qualified scientists and engineers3 and
But this success has been more a function of a dynamic argue that colleges should place more emphasis on
economy, entrepreneurial energy, robust partnerships
between higher education and industry, an influx 2 Testimony of Norman R. Augustine, “Averting the Storm: How Investments in
of highly skilled foreign nationals, and a wealth of Science Will Secure the Competitiveness and Economic Future of the U.S.”
Given in front of the Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of
investment capital than a reflection of the quality Representatives. Washington, D.C., September 29, 2010. Available at www7.
nationalacademies.org/ocga/testimony/Averting_the_Storm.asp.
of science and math education. Indeed, every few
3 Phyllis Eisen, Jerry Jasinowski, and Richard Kleinert, 2005 Skills Gap Report—A
years a new international assessment suggests that Survey of the American Manufacturing Workforce (Washington, DC: The
American students lag far behind their peers in many Manufacturing Institute, 2005). Available at www.doleta.gov/wired/files/
us_mfg_talent_management.pdf.
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equipping graduates with a firm grasp of concepts in There have been a steady supply of proposals for
science, technology, and math.4 tackling STEM education, but most leave largely
undisturbed the organizing assumptions of schools
In an evolving world, the advantages that have carried designed to process the masses and educate the few.
the United States through the past century appear far Such measured steps are reasonable, can certainly help,
less likely to carry it through the next. With other nations and benefit from the opportunity to win support from
making dramatic gains in education and challenging educational stakeholders (including unions and teacher
American supremacy in technology, finance, and colleges). The challenge is that remedies engineered to
research, future success requires that we do dramatically fit within today’s system will be hard-pressed to deliver
better when it comes to educating America’s youth in transformative improvement so long as problematic
math and science. routines and structures remain essentially intact.
4 See, for example: Raising the Bar: Employers’ Views on College

Learning in the Wake of the Economic Downturn (Washington, DC: Hart
Research Associates, January 2010), 2. Available at www.aacu.org/leap/
documents/2009_EmployerSurvey.pdf.
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A Frustrating
National Legacy
S
ince the early days of our Republic, observers opportunities for achieving excellence at all levels of the
have recognized that a people well-educated educational system; and with the Federal government
in the sciences would be a boon to the nation’s continuing to give wholehearted support to basic
economic growth and military strength. As early as 1821, scientific research and technology, we can expect to
Thomas Jefferson wrote, “[I have] a conviction that maintain our position of leadership in the world.”6 The
science is important to the preservation of our republican mid-20th century saw a dramatic upswing in federal and
government, and that it is also essential to its protection state STEM support that led to a number of longstanding
against foreign power.”5 The Founding Fathers and programs; however, national efforts since then have not
those who followed understood that America’s strength been as successful. For an overview of key STEM reports,
lay in its enterprising nature and its ability to innovate— see A Survey of STEM Reports on page 51.
strengths premised on a well-educated public and an
embrace of technological progress. Despite unprecedented federal investment in education,
significant improvements remained elusive. Growing
These sentiments took on new urgency during the Cold concerns about the state of STEM education helped
War, when deficiencies in science and math education prompt U.S. Secretary of Education Terrel Bell to
became more acutely linked to concerns about our convene a blue-ribbon commission that, in 1983, issued
national security, leading, for example, to the National the watershed report A Nation at Risk. The hard-hitting
Defense Education Act and the establishment of the report bemoaned the state of American education and
National Science Foundation. As President Dwight warned of the threat it posed to economic and national
D. Eisenhower noted in 1961, “With appropriate security, declaring, “If an unfriendly foreign power
Federal support, the States and localities can assure had attempted to impose on America the mediocre
5 Thomas Jefferson and Henry Augustine Washington, The Writings of Thomas 6 Dwight D. Eisenhower, Annual Message to the Congress on the State of
Jefferson: Correspondence, Reports and Opinions While Secretary of State the Union. John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters, “The American Presidency
(Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, 1859), 222. Project.” Available at www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=12074.
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educational performance that exists today, we might well education in the Race to the Top selection process.9
have viewed it as an act of war. As it stands, we have Unfortunately, these well-intentioned federal efforts have
allowed this to happen to ourselves.”7 Three years later, not driven the dramatic improvement that is necessary.
the National Science Board released a higher education As Eric Lander, co-chair of the President’s Council on
analog known as the Neal Report, which issued a call Science and Technology, recently stated, federal efforts
to strengthen postsecondary science and technology have been fragmented and incoherent:
education “to have the best technically trained, most
inventive and adaptable workforce of any nation; and “The federal government, historically, over the
to have a citizenry able to make intelligent judgments last quarter century, has really lacked a coherent
about technically-based issues.”8 The urgent tone of strategy and sufficient leadership capacity for
both reports has remained salient over the past 20 years, K-12 STEM education. There are programs galore
and report after report has made the case for higher all over federal agencies, ... [but it is] hard to say
achievement in math and science education. that many of them have been historically targeted
toward the kind of catalytic efforts that have the
In the decades since A Nation at Risk and the Neal potential to truly transform STEM education.”10
Report, the United States has accelerated its shift from
a manufacturing-based economy to a knowledge-based Reform efforts have often disappointed because they
one. In that time, the Internet has reshaped commerce have sought to accommodate, work around, or out-flank
and communication; exemplars of creative commerce the status quo instead of upending it. The familiar “nice
such as Microsoft, eBay, and Southwest Airlines have guy” approach—partnering with existing institutions to
revolutionized the way we live; and the global economy promote best practices, provide resources, and involve
has undergone wrenching change. Throughout that corporate supporters—inevitably does some good, but
period, education spending has steadily increased this path is unlikely to yield breakthrough improvement.
and rafts of well-intentioned school reforms have For one thing, these partnerships are predicated on the
come and gone. But student achievement in math and cooperation of school districts and education officials,
science has remained stagnant, and our K–12 schools meaning that they generally steer away from hot-
have stayed remarkably unchanged—clinging to the button measures that would fundamentally challenge
routines, culture, and operations of an obsolete 1930s incoherent governance, antiquated arrangements, or
manufacturing plant. rigid job descriptions.
Economic and technological competition from China and Happily, the American business community can play
India has refocused our energies on STEM education, a crucial role by providing the kind of straight-talking
giving rise to programs such as the National Math and leadership and relevant expertise that transformative
Science Partnership and the America COMPETES Act. STEM reform requires. With their enormous credibility,
Since his first State of the Union address, President political heft, and ultimate role as the employer of
Obama has embraced the need for STEM reform, America’s STEM talent, business leaders are perhaps the
investing federal education dollars in the Educate
to Innovate initiative and placing a priority on STEM 9 President Barack Obama, State of the Union Address, January 27, 2010.
Available at www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-state-
union-address. Press release, “President Obama Launches ‘Educate to
Innovate’ Campaign for Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering &
Math (STEM) Education,” November 23, 2009. Available at www.whitehouse.
gov/the-press-office/president-obama-launches-educate-innovate-campaign-
7 U.S. Department of Education, A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for
excellence-science-technology-en.
Educational Reform (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 1983).
Available at www2.ed.gov/pubs/NatAtRisk/risk.html. 10 Eric Lander, transcript for “Science and Technology Education: Preparing and
Inspiring America’s Next Generation” (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution,
8 National Science Board (Neal Report), 1986 (NSB-86-100).
September 13, 2010). Available at www.brookings.edu/events/2010/0913_
stem_education.aspx.
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only major stakeholders that have the freedom, reason,

and muscle to challenge a comfortable status quo that
universities, school boards, educators, unions, and
parents have been reluctant to change. This status quo
does not inspire much confidence that American schools,
as currently constituted, can produce the highly-skilled
STEM workforce necessary to drive technological change
and economic growth in the 21st century.
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Where Matters Stand
International K–12 Comparisons The United States fares just as poorly when it comes to
A
mong the countries participating in the 2009 producing high-achieving math and science students. A
Programme for International Student Assessment recent analysis of the PISA exam by Stanford University’s
(PISA) exam, U.S. students ranked 25th in math Eric Hanushek and two colleagues found that only
and 17th in science literacy.11 U.S. results on the 2007 about 6% of American students scored at the advanced
Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study level in math. In Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, and
assessment were somewhat better: American fourth- Finland, 20% or more of students scored at the advanced
grade students scored better in math than students in level. Overall, 30 countries led the United States in the
23 of the 36 participating countries but trailed those in percentage of students scoring at this level.13
eight others. Math scores for American eighth graders
were better than 37 of 48 participating countries, but National Assessment of
they lagged behind the eighth-grade math scores for Educational Progress Results
five other nations. In science, American fourth graders The results for national assessments are no more
scored better than students in 25 out of 35 countries but impressive, though students have made some gains over
significantly lagged counterparts in four countries. Our time in math achievement. The National Assessment of
eighth graders scored better in science than 35 out of 47 Educational Progress (NAEP) has consistently shown that
countries but trailed significantly behind students in nine fewer than 40% of students, at every grade level tested,
other nations.12 are proficient or above in math and science. On the 2009
NAEP, for instance, 39% of fourth graders were proficient
11 Howard Fleischman et al., Highlights from PISA 2009: Performance of U.S. in math, and the figure was just 34% for eighth graders.
15-Year-Old Students in Science and Mathematics Literacy in an International
Context (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 2010). Available at While gains for eighth graders have been modest but
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2011/2011004.pdf.
12 Patrick Gonzales et al., Highlights from TIMSS 2007: Mathematics and Science
Achievement of U.S. Fourth and Eighth-Grade Students in an International 13 Eric Hanushek, Paul E. Peterson, and Ludger Woessmann, “Teaching Math to
Context (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 2009), iii. Available the Talented,” Education Next vol. 11, no. 1 (Winter 2011). Available at: http://
at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2009/2009001.pdf. educationnext.org/teaching-math-to-the-talented/.
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steady since the first test in 1990, proficiency rates that just 14% of all U.S. undergraduates were in STEM
among fourth graders reached a plateau in 2007 after fields, and two-thirds of those were in computer science
earlier growth. The math results are even worse for 12th or engineering.17 Of students who started a STEM
graders, where only 26% scored at or above proficient, degree in 1995, 55% did not finish their degree by 2001
a 3% gain from the first administration of the 12th-grade because they had changed to a non-STEM field or left
test in 2005.14 school completely.18
On the science exam, just 34% of fourth graders scored China, meanwhile, awards just under half of its
at the proficient level in 2009 (a gain from 29% in 2005). undergraduate degrees (47%) in STEM fields; South
The results were lower for eighth graders: 30% were Korea 38%; and Germany 28%.19 Indeed, in the National
proficient in 2009, nearly identical to the results in 2005. On Academies’ 2010 international rankings, the United
the 12th-grade science NAEP, just 21% of students were States ranked 27th among developed nations in the
proficient—a slight increase from 2005’s level of 18%.15 percentage of college graduates with a degree in science
or engineering.20
NAEP results also reveal that we are not producing
enough high-achieving students in math and science. The deficiencies in STEM achievement at the college
On the NAEP math exam, 8% of eighth graders scored level feed back into K–12 when it comes to math and
at the advanced level, while just 6% of fourth graders science teaching. The 2007–2008 Schools and Staffing
and only 3% of 12th graders scored at this level. On Survey reports that only about 62% of public high school
the science exam, 2% or less of the students at any mathematics classes were taught by a certified math
grade level scored well enough on the 2009 exam to be major. While just over 71% of science courses were
deemed advanced; these results are slightly lower than taught by certified science majors, only 35% of chemistry
those in 2005. classes were taught by a certified teacher with a major in
chemistry and 31% of physics courses were taught by a
Higher Education and Beyond certified teacher with a degree in physics.21
The news at the higher education level is equally
disheartening. Looking across multiple metrics, it Across the board, Americans lag behind their
is clear that the already low percentage of college international peers on tests of math and science. On the
degrees awarded in STEM fields has decreased over
the past five years, and the United States has fallen
17 Students Who Study Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
even farther behind internationally. A close look at the (STEM) in Postsecondary Education, July 2009, U.S. Department of Education
NCES 2009-161, 3, 12. Available at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2009/2009161.pdf.
STEM education pipeline shows that while the absolute
18 Students Who Study Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
number of degrees awarded in natural science and (STEM) in Postsecondary Education, July 2009, U.S. Department of Education
NCES 2009-161, 12. Available at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2009/2009161.pdf.
engineering fields increased modestly over the past five
19 National Science Board Science and Engineering Indicators 2010, appendix
years, only 15.6% of bachelor’s degree recipients were table 2-35, featured in Business–Higher Education Forum, Increasing the
in these disciplines, a percentage that has declined over Number of STEM Graduates: Insights from the U.S. STEM Education &
Modeling Project (Washington, DC: Business–Higher Education Forum, 2010),
time.16 The U.S. Department of Education estimated 4. Available at www.bhef.com/solutions/documents/BHEF_STEM_Report.pdf.
20 Testimony of Norman R. Augustine, “Averting the Storm: How Investments in
14 U.S. Department of Education, National Assessment of Educational Progress, Science Will Secure the Competitiveness and Economic Future of the U.S.”
Mathematics 2009. Available at http://nationsreportcard.gov/math_2009. Given in front of the Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of
Representatives. Washington, D.C., September 29, 2010. Available at www7.
15 U.S. Department of Education, National Assessment of Educational Progress, nationalacademies.org/ocga/testimony/Averting_the_Storm.asp.
Science 2005. Available at http://nationsreportcard.gov/science.
21 U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics,
16 National Science Board Science and Engineering Indicators 2010, appendix Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), “Public School Teacher Data File,” 2007–
table 2-13, featured in Business–Higher Education Forum, Increasing the 08. Number and percentage of public high school-level classes of specific
Number of STEM Graduates: Insights from the U.S. STEM Education & subjects taught by a teacher with a major and certification in that subject area,
Modeling Project (Washington, DC: Business–Higher Education Forum, 2010), by selected subject areas: 2007–08. Available at http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/
4. Available at www.bhef.com/solutions/documents/BHEF_STEM_Report.pdf. sass/tables/sass0708_010_t1n.asp.
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NAEP, also known as our “Nation’s Report Card,” fewer

than 40% of American students are deemed proficient
in math and science. In comparison to our international
competitors, a smaller percentage of our college
graduates major in STEM fields. Whether a given industry
needs more STEM innovators or more STEM-capable
students, the evidence points to the same conclusion:
Students at both the K–12 and higher education levels
are not being adequately prepared for the demands of
21st century employment.
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Two STEM
Challenges
A
dvocates of STEM reform typically have a simple not sufficiently spark their passion to pursue advanced
bottom line: higher levels of mathematics study or prepare them for future careers.
and science learning for American students.
National and international data clearly show that At the same time, achievement data and employer
overall improvement is critical. But they also reveal surveys suggest that most students are not mastering
that the nation’s STEM needs are not one-dimensional. even the basic numeracy or rudimentary technical and
Unfortunately, this simple goal has sometimes served to analytical skills needed in the new economy.23 The
muddle rather than clarify improvement efforts. President’s Council on Science and Technology spoke
to this issue in its 2010 recommendations for STEM,
Those in the business community are acutely aware stating, “All U.S. citizens should have an understanding
that employers seeking skilled workers are confronted of scientific and technological knowledge, engineering
with not one STEM problem but two. On the one hand, principles, and quantitative methods sufficient to
sustained innovation in science, technology, engineering, succeed in public life and in their careers.”24 These basic
and math requires a continuous supply of high achievers skills are critical for productive “STEM-capable” workers
with the requisite interest, knowledge, and problem- whose jobs require basic numeracy and analytical
solving skills. This was the basic message of the National problem-solving skills but no particular expertise in
Science Board’s 2010 report on “STEM innovators,” math or science.25 In the knowledge economy, these
which argued that the current education system often
“overlooks and under-develops” students with math 23 Raising the Bar: Employers’ Views on College Learning in the Wake of the
and science potential.22 For these nascent “STEM Economic Downturn, (Washington, DC: Hart Research Associates, 2010), 2.
Available at www.aacu.org/leap/documents/2009_EmployerSurvey.pdf.
innovators,” the basic science and math education that is
24 President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology, Prepare and
designed to get all students over the proficiency bar will Inspire: K-12 Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)
for America’s Future (2010), 15.
25 The Opportunity Equation: Transforming Mathematics and Science
22 National Science Board, Preparing the Next Generation of STEM Innovators: Education for Citizenship and the Global Economy. Carnegie Corporation
Identifying and Developing Our Nation’s Human Capital (Washington, DC: of New York and Institute for Advanced Study, 2010. Available at http://
National Science Board, 2009). opportunityequation.org/report.
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kinds of jobs make up an increasing share of the only one-third of students completed algebra II in
workforce. Moreover, 21st century jobs require more 1978, over half did so in 2008. Unfortunately, National
workers who are capable of problem solving and Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results
analytical thinking, making improved STEM education show little evidence that all this enrollment yielded
an imperative that extends far beyond the purview of much learning. Students enrolled in algebra I, geometry,
technology and engineering. and algebra II in 1978 scored higher than their 2008
counterparts enrolled in the same classes. The result,
explains Schneider, is a “delusion of rigor” in which
we celebrate getting students into classes with more
impressive course titles and giving them higher grades
even though they are not learning more.26
Research suggests that teachers are also feeling this

tension. A 2007 survey of Advanced Placement teachers
found that 77% of teachers agreed that “getting
underachieving students to reach ‘proficiency’ has
become so important that the needs of advanced
students take a back seat.”27 Laudable efforts to
increase the number of students taking advanced
STEM courses likely diluted the rigor of these courses.
Casting the STEM challenge as a quest for universally
high achievement can lead to Pyrrhic victories; in the
Advanced Placement case, democratizing access
has made it more difficult to optimally serve “STEM
innovators.” For more information on a novel approach
to raising participation in Advanced Placement courses,
The dual nature of this challenge is familiar. Prominent see Profile in Innovation: Incentivizing College Readiness
national reports have made the same observation. on page 21.
However, we will risk repetition because this critical
point has so often gotten lost, making it too easy for This is the challenge: If universal success is the goal, we
good ideas to unintentionally compromise excellence or need to be honest about the impact it will have on the
undermine universality. high standards to which we aspire. If we raise the level
of expectation across the board, we must accept the
The push for universalism has often been in tension with fact that some students will not make the cut. Successful
maintaining a high level of rigor. Mark Schneider, former business leaders are familiar with such decisions in
commissioner of the National Center for Education hiring and evaluating employees and optimizing the
Statistics, recently illustrated this dynamic in the case of division of labor; not everybody can do every job,
high school math. Between 1990 and 2005, high school nor would you necessarily want the same level of skill
transcripts seemed to show that efforts to encourage across all employees. We have too often confronted
more students to take more challenging math classes such tensions with bluster rather than creative problem
were working. The average number of math credits
26 Mark Schneider, “Math in American High Schools: The Delusion of Rigor,” AEI
completed by a high school graduate rose from 3.2 to Education Outlook (October 2009).
3.8, and the average math GPA rose from 2.2 to 2.6, 27 Ann Duffet and Steve Farkas, “Results from a National Teacher Survey,” High-
even as more students took higher-level math. Whereas Achieving Students in the Era of NCLB (Washington, DC: Thomas B. Fordham
Institute, 2008).
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solving. Rather than make the case for algebra Profile in Innovation
II into a moral crusade, we should recognize
that an algebra II course may not be suitable or Incentivizing College Readiness:
necessary for all students, but that there may well Advanced Placement Program Training and
be sufficiently rigorous alternatives—perhaps Incentive Program (APTIP)
statistics or economics—that may be a better
match for some students, while still extending Given the critical shortage of students graduating with
their math education. college degrees in science and math, many STEM reformers
have focused on the root of college readiness: rigorous
The leaders of successful firms face these kinds and effective science and math instruction at the high
of difficult decisions each day, and the nation school level. Advanced Placement (AP) courses have come
needs them to bring this discipline to their to symbolize such instruction and have been proven as a
involvement in STEM education. Some firms pathway to college success, yet too few high school students
may have expertise and interest in producing are taking and passing these courses—especially among
more STEM-capable workers, while others may traditionally under-represented students.
find that their interest lies in cultivating STEM
innovators. The key for business leaders is to To help strengthen college readiness, the National Math
be clear from the start as to which piece of the and Science Initiative (NMSI) has taken an innovative and
equation they are best suited to focus on and business-minded approach to get more students into AP
then to maintain that focus in the face of any math and science classrooms and to boost their scores on
pressure to dilute or broaden it. AP exams. The Advanced Placement Training and Incentive
Plan (APTIP) attacks the AP enrollment challenge by offering
a comprehensive reform agenda, including a financial
incentives program for successful students and their teachers.
First launched in 2008 in public schools, APTIP is at work in

ten states with plans to expand to several more if they can
find willing school, community, and business partners. The
results from 2008-2010 are compelling:
- 155% increase in math, science, and English AP exams

passed for African American and Hispanic students
- 116% increase in math and science AP exams passed
by females
- 98% increase in passage rate among math, science, and
English AP exams1
By leveraging the power of incentives for underserved

students and their teachers while also building the foundation
for a more effective AP pipeline, NMSI’s APTIP presents
business leaders with a proven, like-minded partner.
1 More information available at www.nationalmathandscience.org/index.php/

ap-training-incentive-programs/ap-training-aamp-incentive-programs.html.
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Needed: Bold
Business Leadership
A
merica’s dynamic, immensely productive private for the federal government (e.g. defense contractors like
sector is the envy of the world, and the voice of Boeing or Northrop Grumman) are prohibited from hiring
business can be far bolder than most. Business foreign nationals, and are thus profoundly reliant on the
leaders have the credibility to call on K–12 schooling to quality of America’s STEM pipeline. Because they know
embrace the same kind of reinvention that has helped how hard it is to change routines but how important it is
American firms set the pace in science and technology to do so, business leaders—as business leaders and not
innovation. How might the dynamism, accountability, as cheerleaders—are well-suited to pursue innovative,
and creative problem-solving that are second-nature to hardnosed reform in STEM education.
America’s business community help improve teaching and
learning in science, technology, engineering, and math? When well-run businesses are confronted with dramatic
What would a business plan for STEM reform look like? changes in their operating environment, they do more
than adjust hiring and pay, clarify existing goals, or
Business leaders bring two things to the table in the attempt to plug better people into existing positions.
discussion of STEM reform: They are the ones who They reexamine their business model, question the
will hire our graduates for STEM jobs and thus know design of the organization, and rethink staffing and job
what skills and knowledge are most in demand; and, as descriptions with an eye to emerging demands and
leaders of organizations that must constantly adapt to new opportunities.
new challenges, they are positioned to help educators
manage the transformational change we need. These Rather than supporting efforts to wedge STEM
leaders have a personal interest in the performance of improvements into today’s schools and classrooms,
our graduates, have been forced to manage such change the business community ought to push educators and
in their own fields of endeavor, and they appreciate the policymakers to approach STEM education with that
bracing discipline of accountability and competition. same mindset. U.S. Chamber of Commerce president
Indeed, leaders of major businesses that work directly Tom Donohue noted in 2009, “As the driver of economic
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innovation, business must be deeply involved in change the status quo. Rather than seek a consensual
educational innovation. Without innovation in education, middle ground that can find support among the wide
we do our children an injustice by not meeting their array of STEM stakeholders, business leaders should
academic needs and not adequately preparing them to leave that turf to the membership and advocacy
enter the increasingly competitive workforce. If business organizations that are too constrained to do much else.
heeds the call, America will have a brighter future with a Business leaders should unapologetically operate as
larger potential for job creation, developing the talent to independent stakeholders—unafraid to push for bolder,
fill the positions that will drive a robust economy.”28 more ambitious reform.
What, then, should the business role be in tackling the In the discussion that follows, we track three broad
STEM challenge? As we assert in the following pages, areas of reform that have been sketched out in many
business leaders would do well to keep certain basic recent STEM reports, with a particular focus on the role
principles in mind. First, wherever possible, business business can play in pushing beyond the safe and familiar
leaders should try to make bolder investments in remedies. We consider how business leaders can take full
innovative partners that are not intricately tied to the advantage of strengthened and streamlined academic
structures and routines of the status quo. Rather than standards; rethink how teachers are hired, deployed,
supporting the bandwagon carrying education’s latest and prepared; and promote new models of schooling
flavor-of-the-month fad with tens of millions in cash that facilitate STEM learning. Whereas efforts of this
and in-kind support, business leaders should seek out kind are typically charged with crafting a nonthreatening
redesign efforts or providers that have the potential agenda that will find broad-based support inside and
to revolutionize schooling, teaching, and learning. outside education, we operate under no such constraint.
Foundations and government are already pumping In offering a complement to helpful but mild-mannered
billions into backing the popular reforms of the moment, proposals, we seek to present a bolder, more ambitious,
and there is little evidence that this funding, along with potentially more controversial vision for how the business
related business support, has done much good. community can most effectively leverage its expertise
and resources when it comes to STEM reform.
Second, business leaders should approach education
reform investments with the same scrupulousness they
use in their business investments. Not all innovative
ventures in education are created equal, and business
leaders should be clear-eyed in assessing the long-term
prospects of a reform idea before investing. New STEM
investments should be based on metrics, research, and
outcomes, with the same sort of due diligence that is
done before a CEO implements a new business strategy.
Third, business leaders should be brave enough to

provide operational advice and guidance to their
educational partners in areas where they have expertise,
while providing political cover for reformers in the
inevitable policy battles that result from attempts to
28 Press release, “State-By-State Report Card Calls for Education Reform,” U.S.
Chamber of Commerce Institute for a Competitive Workforce, November 9,
2009. Available at http://icw.uschamber.com/press-release/state-state-report-
card-calls-education-reform.
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Making New
Standards Count
A
mong many STEM advocates across the country, Higher, clearer, and more concise standards are a critical
the mantra in recent years is that math and prerequisite to cultivating a “performance culture” that
science standards ought to be “fewer, clearer, and will catalyze gains in our overall level of student learning
higher” and that they should be linked to sophisticated in math and science. We must raise standards because
assessments and accountability mechanisms. The Common the jobs in fast-growing fields such as health care and
Core State Standards effort sponsored by the National information technology will require a higher level of
Governors Association and the Council of Chief State math and science knowledge, critical thinking ability,
School Officers has been at the forefront of this movement, and problem-solving skills than many of our graduates
and it has been widely discussed in STEM research and currently achieve. Compared with earlier eras—when the
foundation circles.29 Clearer standards are prerequisites for labor market had a more significant slice of semiskilled
the emergence of a performance-minded STEM culture. and unskilled jobs in manufacturing—more of our
As Bryan Hassel, Cynthia Brown, and Frederick Hess have graduates need a higher level of technological know-
reported, “[Education] entrepreneurs identified the lack how, numeracy, and basic scientific knowledge than ever
of a performance culture in K–12 public education as the before. Holding all students to more rigorous and clearer
greatest constraint on their ability to scale and succeed. A standards is one route to moving the needle upward
critical ingredient of this performance culture—clear metrics in student achievement in math and science. Efforts to
that indicate how good a product is or how well a service is create such high benchmarks, to make them comparable
working—is largely missing in public education.”30 across state lines, and to hold educators accountable for
reaching them are worthwhile steps in the right direction.
29 The Opportunity Equation, a Carnegie Corporation and Institute for Advanced
Study report released in 2010, encourages nonprofits, businesses, unions, and
other constituencies to support state involvement in the Common Core and to But common standards are a blunt instrument. Calls for
“engage teachers and school leaders” in promoting appropriate standards. streamlined standards imply that simply aligning and
30 Stimulating Excellence: Unleashing the Power of Innovation in Education. clarifying science and math standards will be sufficient to
(Washington, DC: Center for American Progress, May 2009), 4. Available at
www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/05/stimulating_excellence.html. help today’s schools and teachers dramatically improve
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achievement. While directionally sound, such efforts are It is no longer necessary or even advisable to teach 24
likely to underestimate the need not just for standards students the same math or science lesson each day.
but for smart and targeted standards. Within the basic In middle school, for instance, New York City’s School
architecture of fewer, clearer, and higher standards, there of One is showing that it is now possible to pretest
is room for forward-looking educators to be much more students, then customize the curriculum so they spend
innovative in redesigning learning objectives, curriculum, sufficient time learning what they need to master and no
and instruction to maximize STEM achievement for time waiting for the class to catch up. Rather than lock
students with different needs and priorities. Because students into 24-student platoons, the School of One
higher, more consistent standards are an important has adopted a “customized playlist” approach: Students
ingredient in education reform, it makes sense for are assigned each day to the learning objectives that
business to weigh in on what students should know and are next and most appropriate given where they stand.
be able to do in science, math, and engineering. After Instruction is built around student needs—a student
all, they are the stakeholders who need employees who might receive small-group instruction, large-group
reach these thresholds. But while the “fewer, clearer, instruction, in-person tutoring, online tutoring, computer-
and higher” mantra makes good sense, there is also assisted instruction, or whatever makes sense for a given
room to think more creatively about how to target and lesson. One advantage of this model is that it allows
differentiate standards. faculty to creatively carve up the curriculum; for example,
the strongest fractions teacher might teach fractions to
The Problem with One-Size-Fits-All Standards all the students, while the weakest fractions teachers can
For would-be STEM reformers, thinking about standards skip that piece of the puzzle and concentrate on areas
only in terms of refurbishing state curricula locks them in which they are strong. This new way of thinking about
into the rhythms of another century. Just a few decades sequencing and learning objectives appears to be paying
ago, it made sense to assume that all students would off: School of One participants have posted impressive
show up on day one and would march through the gains in math achievement, with math scores rising 42%
180 days of instruction pretty much in tandem. If a to 70% after enrollment in the program.31
student already knew how to multiply fractions, a skilled
teacher would have her teach a classmate or do some A customized learning model helps educators avoid
alternative work. a pitfall of one-size-fits-all standards: the potential for
high-achieving students to get lost in the shuffle as
Today, we no longer consider that kind of one-size-fits-all educators try to get more students over the proficiency
slog necessary. We no longer assume that one must listen bar. Though existing research on this “Robin Hood
to a record by putting the needle on the first song and effect” has not conclusively shown that the achievement
letting it play through. With modern technology, it is a trivial of high performers has suffered under current systems
matter for listeners to configure their playlists as they see of standards and accountability,32 surveys of teachers
fit—and increasingly savvy algorithms allow MP3 players
31 New York City Department of Education press release, “Chancellor Klein
to tailor playlists based on our previous listening habits. Announces Expansion of Cutting-Edge School of One Program.” March
Similar advances offer better, smarter ways to think about 15, 2010. Available at http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/mediarelations/
NewsandSpeeches/2009-2010/schoolofone031510.htm.
curriculum and instructional design. Ham-handed standards
32 In his analysis of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data,
can make unbundling and specializing services much more Tom Loveless finds no evidence of a Robin Hood effect under No Child Left
Behind. See Loveless, “Part 1: An Analysis of NAEP Data” in High Achieving
difficult, and when these standards are linked to simplistic Students in the Era of No Child Left Behind (Washington, DC: Thomas B.
accountability measures, they can lead educators to focus Fordham Institute, 2008). Available at www.edexcellence.net/publications-
issues/publications/high-achieving-students-in.html. Examining student
on students who are closest to reaching proficiency and achievement in the Chicago public schools, Derek Neal and Diane Whitmore
Schanzenbach find mixed results for gifted students under NCLB’s testing and
ignore the needs of high-achieving students. accountability requirements. See Neal and Schanzenbach, “Left Behind By
Design: Proficiency Counts and Test-Based Accountability,” working paper.
Available at www.aei.org/docLib/20070716_NealSchanzenbachPaper.pdf.
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suggest that such pressures exist and shape classroom for what it calls “workplace tasks”—tasks needed by
behavior.33 Using technology to customize learning does potential employees in fast-growing occupations such as
not supersede common standards, which are needed allied health, information technology, and finance. The
to provide the structure necessary to evaluate and tasks were developed by working with private companies
improve learning. But it allows for a level of instructional to determine what these jobs actually require, especially
flexibility that enables educators to allocate time and with regard to math and science. Rather than just
resources more strategically. Thus, it can help ensure providing moral support, businesses played an active role
that gifted science and math students are provided with in creating the benchmarks and sending signals to district
opportunities to encounter more challenging material and leaders who can translate them into instructional practice
that struggling students receive extra help on the content at the K–12 level. Merck’s Institute for Science Education
when they need it. serves as an example of how individual firms can play
a critical and constructive role in creating learning
The larger point is that broad-gauge support for objectives that reflect 21st century STEM skills. Through
common standards is well and good, but much more the Institute, Merck has partnered with neighboring New
dynamic efforts are unfolding in math and science Jersey public schools to help align their science and
curriculum and instruction that can work in concert with math curriculum standards, instruction, and professional
higher, clearer standards for all. These initiatives do not development with the needs of the local workforce.
supplant our need for common standards, but they can See Profile in Innovation: Modeling Science Education
help educators avoid some of the problems inherent Standards on page 31 for more details.
in one-size-fits-all learning objectives. These new ideas
would benefit enormously from business support, At the postsecondary level, career and technical colleges
advocacy, and partnership. are in routine contact with local industry leaders and
are expected to revise and update their curricula on an
Shaping a High-Quality, Practical STEM Curriculum ongoing basis in light of industry feedback. While advisory
Business leaders are exceptionally well-positioned councils are often required by accrediting agencies, and
(perhaps more so than any other stakeholders) to identify many occupational programs at traditional universities
what graduates actually need to know and be able to have them as well, the most proactive institutions approach
do to be successful in the 21st century economy. While these industry ties with a commitment to ensuring that
supporting the national push to construct common graduates have the skills needed for employment. The
standards in math via the Common Core is laudable, the result is a productive partnership between institution and
business community should seek out other approaches industry rather than a half-hearted bureaucratic exercise.
for strengthening STEM curriculum and standards. What
might such “other approaches” look like? For instance, DeVry University works with about 90
local Industry Advisory Councils around the country,
The American Diploma Project (ADP), which seeks to and these councils—comprised of representatives from
raise learning standards and high school graduation major local employers—play a vital role in shaping
requirements in partner states, is one example of how curriculum and signaling the need for new programs.
business leaders can get involved in improving standards Because DeVry operates multiple campuses, this
and curricula.34 The ADP reserves a prominent place structure allows curriculum and program emphasis
to be adjusted to local employer needs—what Intel
33 On survey evidence among teachers, see Steve Farkas and Ann Duffett, “Part needs in Austin, Motorola may not need in Phoenix.35
2: Results from a National Teacher Survey” in High Achieving Students in the
Era of No Child Left Behind (Washington, DC: Thomas B. Fordham Institute,
2008). Available at www.edexcellence.net/publications-issues/publications/ 35 Guilbert Hentschke, “Innovations in Business Models and Organizational
high-achieving-students-in.html. Cultures: The For-Profit Sector.” In Reinventing Higher Education, eds. Ben
Wildavsky, Andrew Kelly, and Kevin Carey (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education
34 More information available at www.achieve.org/adp-network. Press, 2011).
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In the public sector, observers have lauded Indiana’s Ivy lead to an effort that better reflects local needs. Rather
Tech Community College for working with local firms than waiting for a DeVry or Ivy Tech to knock on the
to develop and revise programs in light of employers’ door, business leaders should actively seek out such
human capital needs.36 Like DeVry, Ivy Tech tailors opportunities to shape STEM programs at their local
program offerings at individual campuses to reflect local secondary and postsecondary institutions.
labor market demand.
Standards depend entirely on the tests, frameworks,
This high level of coordination between postsecondary and training that follow—and that’s where business
institutions and local businesses is often the exception can lend a hand and provide useful pressure. Business
rather than the rule. It may be more difficult for business can help ensure that tests are rigorous, that officials
to be quite as engaged in public community colleges or set high expectations, and that school districts and
secondary schools, where it might not feel as welcome; teacher preparation programs are encouraged to retool
however, opportunities exist to shape district and school their training. It’s not just about adopting standards,
standards and curricula. In comparison, efforts to create it’s about using them to refashion the way educators
and raise national standards may be worthwhile, but do business. This involves partnering at the district
they are fraught with political challenges, will take years and state level, pushing these changes into practice.
to implement, and will have an uncertain impact on And it involves bringing muscle to bear to ensure that
classroom assignments and instruction. Using Industry educators and schools of education don’t nod cheerfully
Advisory Councils to set clear expectations about what at new standards and then keep doing the same thing,
graduates must know and be able to do in order to but that tests and accountability systems actually reflect
work in a given STEM field avoids these complications. these standards—and that new providers have the
Moreover, working with willing schools or districts to opportunity to deliver customized training, preparation,
develop challenging and relevant STEM standards can materials, and support.
36 Davis Jenkins and Christopher Spence, The Career Pathways How-To Guide
(New York: Workforce Strategy Center, 2006). See also Rebecca Troyer and
Bill Strother, “‘Hot Jobs’ List, Input from Businesses Help Tailor Ivy Tech’s
Curriculum,” Bloomington Herald-Times, January 30, 2011.
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Profile in Innovation
Modeling Science Education Standards:
Merck and New Jersey Public Schools
In 1993, Merck launched the Merck Institute for

Science Education (MISE) to help reshape science
instruction and leadership in public school districts
across New Jersey. The MISE approach to STEM
reform has now spawned numerous imitators, and it
remains an innovative and admirable example of how
corporate leadership can directly influence science
education in the long term.
Among MISE’s celebrated initiatives are their on-

the-ground efforts to support science curriculum
standards and professional development. Working
with districts and community leaders, MISE brings the
expertise of one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical
companies to bear on state science standards,
partnering with policymakers to craft instruction
standards that meet the needs of a 21st century
workforce. MISE further supports these efforts
through a number of professional development
programs, such as the Merck Fellows Program, which
serve to mentor both young and veteran teachers
in the application of a real-world, standards-based
science curriculum.
“Partnering with MISE provides our district educators

with a unique opportunity to adapt their current
practices to future opportunities and challenges in
an increasing global market,’’ said Clifford B. Janey,
former Newark superintendent of schools. “How we
engage as adults sets a gold standard for what we
can expect from our students.’’1
1 More information available at www.app.com/article/CN/20100916/

NEWS/100916008/Merck-CEO-to-join-Obama-in-announcing-expanded-
science-technology-math-initiative.
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Rethinking Teaching
S
TEM reformers rightly place considerable emphasis erode.38 Moreover, even as the traditional labor supply
on improving teacher quality in math and science. was shrinking, schools embarked on an aggressive effort
Various reports have called for recruiting more to hire more and more teachers, tripling the teaching
STEM experts to the profession, providing better force between the 1950s and 2000s.39 The result was a
professional development to those already there, serious dilution of talent.
and implementing compensation systems that enable
schools to retain their best teachers. Others have gone Nowhere has that dilution been more severe than in the
further, offering recommendations more likely to ruffle STEM disciplines. Out-of-field teaching is prevalent in
feathers in traditional circles by calling for performance math and science,40 and administrators consistently report
pay and differentiated pay scales.37 All these proposals that it is tough to recruit and retain STEM teachers. In the
are sensible and sound, but they fall short of the mark. 2003-2004 Schools and Staffing Survey, 87% of schools
Beyond just getting more good teachers for the familiar with 1000 or more students reported teaching vacancies
teaching role, there’s a crying need to rethink what this in mathematics, 67% in biology and life sciences, and 62%
19th century job should look like in the 21st century.
38 While 55 percent of women with a college degree were teachers, only about
Otherwise, all this activity amounts to a frenetic search 15 percent are teachers today. See U.S. Census Bureau, “Sixteenth Census of
the United States: 1940” (Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau, 1940), 67, 69.
for hundreds of thousands of superheroes. Available at www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/33973538v2p1ch2.
pdf. See also Susanna Loeb and Michelle Reininger, “Public Policy and
Teacher Labor Markets: What We Know and Why It Matters,” The Education
Fifty years ago, schools could rely on college-educated Policy Center at Michigan State University (April 2004), 40.
women as a somewhat captive source of labor for 39 U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics,
Digest of Educational Statistics, Table 64: Public and Private Elementary and
schools. But as labor market opportunities expanded for Secondary Teachers, Enrollment, and Pupil/Teacher Ratios: Selected Years, Fall
women, the female monopoly on education began to 1955 through Fall 2018. Available at http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d09/
tables/dt09_064.asp?referrer=list.
40 U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics,
Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), “Public School Teacher Data File,” 2007–
37 The Opportunity Equation: Transforming Mathematics and Science 08. “Number and percentage of public high school-level classes of specific
Education for Citizenship and the Global Economy, Carnegie Corporation subjects taught by a teacher with a major and certification in that subject area,
of New York and Institute for Advanced Study, 2010, 43. Available at http:// by selected subject areas: 2007–08.” Available at http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/
opportunityequation.org/report. sass/tables/sass0708_010_t1n.asp.
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in the physical sciences. Including smaller schools, 54% about $58,000-$65,000.43 The same data show that the
reported vacancies in math.41 Of those schools, roughly a median starting salary for those with a degree in physics,
quarter reported they found it very difficult or were simply computer science, or applied math comes in somewhere
unable to fill vacancies in mathematics, biology and life between about $51,000 and $56,000. Compare these
sciences, and the physical sciences.42 figures to the $34,500 median salary for a teacher in the
first year of their career (as calculated across selected
Unfortunately, proposals to improve recruitment or states by the National Center for Education Statistics) and
professional development have too rarely challenged the you get a sense of the challenge.44 Not surprisingly, the
dubious assumption that the way to transform instructional PayScale data suggest that these gaps only become more
quality in the 21st century is to simply recruit hundreds of expansive as graduates progress in their careers, making
thousands of “better” math and science teachers into old mid-career shifts an even more daunting prospect for a
job descriptions. A more promising approach is to rethink math or science degree holder.
the teaching job itself in ways that allow us to tap the 21st
century labor market. This requires taking full advantage of Unfortunately, even the most aggressive merit pay systems,
possibilities for part-time instructors, online instruction, and innovative alternative licensure programs, and far-reaching
new conceptions of the teacher’s job description. Rather recruitment efforts will have a difficult time closing these
than following the lead of private sector transformations— significant financial gaps. Rather than only thinking about
in which best-in-breed firms or dynamic new competitors how we can entice more of these STEM graduates to “do
find innovative ways to tap talent, tools, and technology— the right thing” and join the teaching corps, business
even “radical” proposals for STEM reform typically take the leaders should press policymakers and educators to
familiar 19th century job descriptions, school structures, consider efforts to meet those experts where they are. How
and delivery models as a given. can schools leverage existing experts who have an interest
in education but not necessarily as a career? How should
Why are incremental remedies unlikely to make much of we structure incentives and rewards to make our best math
a dent? Would-be reformers must confront the fact that and science teachers more productive? And how should
the teacher quality deficit in STEM is far more challenging we think about teacher training that is rigorous and timely
than in other disciplines as a result of simple economics. without discouraging talented people from entering the
In general, college graduates who major in math or field? This kind of reform requires a serious rethinking of
one of the hard sciences in college can command a the teacher job description.
significantly higher starting wage in the private sector
than most any public school can hope to offer a first- Business leaders are especially likely to recognize
year teacher. According to the 2010-2011 College the futility of attempting to raise productivity and
Salary Report from PayScale—an online compensation harness new technology while maintaining the same
database—a newly minted electrical, chemical, or job descriptions, divisions of labor, and compensation
industrial engineer can expect a starting salary of packages that were state-of-the-art in the middle of the
last century. Rather than simply sign on to this merit
pay plan or that professional development method,
41 U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, business leaders ought to be more vocal about the need
Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), 2003-04. Table 15: Of schools that had
teaching vacancies for the current school year, percentage with vacancies in
various fields, by school type and selected school characteristics: 2003–04. 43 Payscale.com, “2010-2011 College Salary Report,” (Seattle, WA: PayScale.com,
Available at http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sass/tables/sass_2004_15.asp 2011). Available at http://www.payscale.com/best-colleges/degrees.asp.
42 U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 44 U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics,
Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) 2003-04, Table 16: Of schools that had Common Core of Data (CCD), “Pilot Teacher Compensation Survey, 2005-06,”
teaching vacancies in various fields for the current school year, percentage that Table 8, available at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2008/tcspilot/tables/table_8.
found it very difficult or were not able to fill the vacancies in these fields, by asp. Authors’ calculations based on median base salary data; all figures were
school type and selected school characteristics: 2003–04. Available at http:// adjusted for inflation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index
nces.ed.gov/surveys/sass/tables/sass_2004_16.asp. calculator, available at http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm.
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to completely transform our anachronistic system into in teaching. According to research by the Woodrow
a more modern, flexible model that will better serve Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, an impressive
student needs. 42% of respondents aged 24-60 expressed interest in
teaching, with older age groups and science and IT
Rewriting the Full-Time Job Description professionals being the most enthusiastic.47 But many
In the 21st century labor market, the teacher quality of these potential teachers don’t necessarily want to
challenge demands doing more than revising recruitment abandon their current careers, have little stomach for
and compensation. Taking full advantage of individuals teacher training programs, and may be more interested
with STEM expertise requires that we rethink the teacher’s in approaching teaching the way they approach coaching
job description. Today, schools have few ways to harness Little League or volunteering at their church. In other
the talents of people whose career goals do not include words, many talented individuals have an interest in
being a full-time K–12 teacher. While businesses have teaching as something they do in addition to, rather than
spent decades figuring out how to leverage the talents instead of, their chosen profession.48
of part-time staff, freelancers, and remote workers, and
colleges have specialized adjunct faculty and affiliated A few organizations have attempted to leverage
professionals who provide instruction in particular areas, community resources to augment school staff. Boston-
schools have barely begun to consider alternatives to the based Citizen Schools, for example, provides highly
traditional classroom teacher. regarded after-school instruction and career-based
learning by arranging for local volunteers to work with
When an engineer stops working full-time to start a family, students on a regular basis. Rather than simply mentoring
she might consult, freelance, or find some other part- or tutoring students, participants teach weekly modules
time role with her old employer or a savvy nonprofit. But that tackle complex projects with interested students.
schools cling to a model that assumes that teachers will be Citizen Schools leverages the expertise of local engineers
content to remain in a classroom for three decades. Rather and scientists on a part-time (and cost-free) basis and
than convince today’s 22-year-olds to enter (and remain in) illustrates the promise of approaches that do not wholly
teaching, we’d do better to rethink the profession with an depend on full-time, career-long staffing. In recognition
eye to the contemporary talent pool. of Citizen School’s impact in STEM fields, the National
Science Foundation recently awarded the organization
There is enormous interest in teaching among talented with a $1 million grant in support of their afterschool
graduates with degrees in math and science—for computing apprenticeships.49
instance, in 2009, one in five Teach for America
applicants had a background in a STEM field45—but not The key is to stop thinking of teaching as an all-or-
necessarily as a lifelong vocation. This is not surprising, nothing job and create models that include the support
given that the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the and opportunity for steady part-timers who also
typical college graduate today holds six jobs in the first have other obligations or complementary jobs. This
decade of his or her working life.46 Surveys suggest that “adjunct approach” could reflect the way other kinds
mid-career professionals, especially those in science and
technology jobs, also express a great deal of interest 47 Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc., Teaching as a Second Career (Woodrow
Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, September 2008). Available at www.
woodrow.org/images/pdf/policy/Teaching2ndCareer_0908.pdf.
45 In 2004, Teach for American launched the Math and Science Initiative to recruit
more math and science teachers in low-income schools. For more information, 48 The Teaching As a Second Career survey found that potential mid-career
see www.teachforamerica.org/about-us/special-initiatives/math-and-science- changers expressed concerns about confusing licensure requirements and the
initiative. salary cut that would go along with a transition to teaching. Available at www.
woodrow.org/images/pdf/policy/Teaching2ndCareer_0908.pdf.
46 Bureau of Labor Statistics, Economic News Release, “Number of Jobs Held,
Labor Market Activity, and Earnings Growth Among the Youngest Baby 49 Citizen Schools press release, “$1 Million Grant from National Science
Boomers: Results from a Longitudinal Survey Summary,” September 10, 2010. Foundation,” Citizen Schools. Available at www.citizenschools.org/news/1-
Available at www.bls.gov/news.release/nlsoy.nr0.htm. million-grant-from-national-science-foundation.
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of organizations tap into particular expertise or retain Getting More Value Out of Great Teachers
the services of talented professionals despite changing When it comes to recruiting the highest quality applicants
life circumstances. Allowing science, technology, and to teaching math or science, the traditional step-and-lane
engineering professionals to teach without abandoning pay scales that predominate in public school systems
their careers could be a particularly useful model for are a fundamental obstacle. Among potential mid-
staffing STEM classrooms. career changers, low pay has been cited as the biggest
concern for those interested in transitioning to teaching
The adjunct model could be particularly effective when as a second career.50 Science and engineering jobs
it comes to identifying and nurturing the next generation in the private sector not only pay more, they are also
of STEM innovators, who need to be challenged and flexible enough to reward top performers and provide
shown the potential of math and science careers. This opportunity for rapid advancement. In contrast, step-
is a natural role for mid-career professionals who have and-lane systems tie the compensation of coveted math
an interest in teaching and mentoring but are reluctant and science teachers to the pay of all other teachers,
to switch careers to become full-time teachers. Moves many of whom have fewer lucrative professional options.
in this direction include Hewlett Packard’s effort to Familiar STEM proposals to relax licensure requirements,
encourage volunteering among its computer scientists bolster recruiting practices, and explore differential
and engineers, and ExxonMobil’s summer science compensation will help; equally important is making
camps. But there is room for deeper and more structured better use of the talent schools already have.
relationships between STEM firms and local school
districts, with STEM professionals working as adjunct The key is to create a job that appeals to talented and
faculty and districts finding ways to provide tailored energetic STEM teachers, rewards them for productivity,
training for such teaching or mentoring. and makes optimal use of their skills. Performance pay is
just one small piece of this puzzle, and tacking bonuses
Why shouldn’t schools and districts have the onto industrial-era pay scales is not enough. Instead,
flexibility to contract out certain courses or units to would-be reformers must encourage schools to tailor
STEM professionals who agree to serve as adjunct the job description of excellent teachers so that they
instructors? Schools could essentially “buy out” part can focus on what they do best and be more productive
of a professional’s time in her “day job” (perhaps on a while they do it. As The New Teacher Project’s report
prorated basis that could be tax deductible for the firm) The Widget Effect recounted in 2009, the tendency to
to hire her as an adjunct instructor. Corporations could treat teachers as indistinguishable cogs neglects their
also learn from IBM’s example: the firm’s Transition individual strengths and needs.51
to Teaching Program fast-tracks IBM employees into
teaching if they’d like to change careers (See Profile in Any business leader would agree that it makes little
Innovation: Replenishing the Pipeline on page 37 for sense for elite cardiovascular surgeons and novice
more details). Fortunately for schools, such experts are residents to take turns conducting heart surgery and
often plentiful in the community, staffing and leading handling administrative duties. Yet that is standard
businesses that use science, math, or engineering practice in schools, where all teachers—regardless of
knowledge every day. The key is to provide flexible skill or demonstrated performance—take equal turns
opportunities and training that enable these experts to
get involved in a systematic way. Business leaders with
50 Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc., Teaching as a Second Career
an interest in STEM reform should approach schools (Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, September
2008), 2. Available at www.woodrow.org/images/pdf/policy/
and districts with such a model in mind to explore Teaching2ndCareer_0908.pdf.
potential collaborations. 51 Daniel Weisberg, Susan Sexton, Jennifer Mulhern, and David Keeling, The
Widget Effect: Our National Failure to Acknowledge and Act on Differences in
Teacher Effectiveness (Washington, DC: The New Teacher Project, 2009).
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monitoring the lunchroom, supervising Profile in Innovation

bus loading, patrolling the hallways,
and so on. Replenishing the Pipeline: IBM’s Pathway for Mid-Career
Teachers-to-Be
If schools are to retain excellent math
Since 1994, IBM’s Reinventing Education grant program has awarded
and science teachers, they must
$75 million in grants to nine sites around the country. Each site is
recognize that all teachers are not
dedicated to a particular challenge in education, yet they all collaborate
an interchangeable commodity and
and share insights as they experiment and learn about what works.
distinguish instructional roles in ways
Harvard Business School professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter has said of
that make smart use of variable expertise
Reinventing Education: “It’s a role model for the way corporations can
and skill. Some of the multifaceted
use their resources to make a contribution to change. It isn’t simply
tasks that teachers handle—lecturing,
that it’s philanthropy. Philanthropy tends to mean charity: arm’s length,
leading discussions, grading homework,
noblesse oblige, write a check, walk away from it. What’s different is
designing assessments, mentoring,
that IBM is using its resources over a long period of time to work in
monitoring study hall, and so on—might
partnership with school systems to apply technology to remove barriers
be uncoupled so that highly expert
and raise achievement and performance.”1
STEM teachers can focus on what they
do best.
IBM’s involvement in the Reinventing Education initiative has led to a
number of tools that are customized for teacher needs. For example,
Schools should also think about how
the Riverdeep Learning Village—an instructional portal for teachers,
to make their best teachers more
students, and families that drew on IBM’s expertise in connective web
productive. If one walks into a local
applications—allows teachers from different grant sites to share insights
elementary school and asks the
on effective practices, tie professional development to lesson plans and
principal to identify the school’s best
assessments, and track their students’ progress in real time.
and worst fourth-grade math teachers,
it’s almost certain that they will be
On the STEM front, IBM has been particularly innovative in its
teaching the same amount of math to
approach to improving the science and mathematics pipeline. In 2006,
the same number of students every
the company’s Reinventing Education team launched the Transition
day. Each teacher is instructing his or
to Teaching Program, which puts IBM’s top employees on the fast
her bundle of 20-odd students in math,
track to becoming accredited teachers once they decide to leave the
science, history, and everything else,
company. By offering employees the time and tuition to complete
regardless of skill or expertise. This is a
online and traditional coursework before they leave the company
profoundly careless use of talent.
payroll, IBM has lowered the barriers to switching to a teaching career
for their best and brightest workers. The firm also worked with schools
Business leaders, for whom questions
of education as part of the program, assisting them in adjusting course
of specialization and productivity make
offerings to be better suited to career professionals from STEM fields.
intuitive sense, need to take the lead in
addressing the status quo. For instance,
By leveraging their expertise as a software industry leader and making
while there is considerable support
innovative investments in a burgeoning field of educators, IBM’s
for rewarding teachers who produce
Reinventing Education program is a model for corporate citizens who
gains in achievement among their 20
are willing to take bold, creative action to transform STEM education.
to 25 students, there is less interest in
making such talented teachers more
1 More information available at www.ibm.com/ibm/ibmgives/grant/education/programs/
productive by rewarding them for reinventing/kanter.shtml.
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serving more students. Few admired businesses would be schools “get more students in front of top teachers by
satisfied to pay their best employees more on the basis identifying the top 25% of teachers and asking them to
of last year’s results without asking how those employees take on four or five more students.”53
might take on new roles and responsibilities in the coming
year. That explains why salary differentiation results not Evidence suggests that many of our international
from bonuses but from the fact that high performers competitors in math and science already get more
are promoted into increasingly responsible roles, thus productivity out of their math teachers, successfully
enabling them to become even more productive. Even posting high math scores on international assessments
cutting-edge merit pay proposals in schools do nothing while also featuring larger class sizes. In a study of math
more than give effective teachers a cash bonus—and ask achievement across 18 countries, Harvard University’s
them to do the same job for the same number of students Martin West and Ludger Woessmann found that not only
the following year. Efforts to expand the reach of these did small class size not predict better test scores, but that
teachers or boost their productivity are not visible on the several top performers like Korea, Hong Kong, and Japan
reform agenda—business leaders could play a key role in boasted classrooms with 35 students or more.54 West
changing that state of affairs. and Woessmann’s point is not that math class size should
be mechanically increased in order to mimic successful
Fortunately, a handful of leaders in some states are nations. But math results for these high-performing
starting to push forward on this issue. Businesses would countries do suggest that tailoring class size to reflect
do well to support measures, for instance, that would teacher skills, and rewarding those teachers who take on
offer math teachers who are at least reasonably effective more students successfully, is a strategy worth pursuing.
the opportunity, should they so choose, to teach more
kids and be rewarded for taking on a larger workload. Carving New Paths to Teaching
Math teachers whose students post larger than normal When it comes to preparing STEM teachers, more is
gains would be eligible to participate. Participating needed than simply supporting or tinkering with today’s
teachers would have the option of teaching up to 50% schools of education and licensure systems. Rather, we
more students than normal—say, 33 students rather than should ask why we need traditional teacher education in
22—and would be rewarded for their increased workload, the first place. The bulky licensure system that supports
while continued participation would depend on a these programs, with its reliance on paper credentials
teacher’s students continuing to demonstrate exceptional and vast bureaucracies, may have been a defensible
performance. The result would be an opportunity to get strategy in the industrial era but is poorly suited to
more productivity out of the most effective teachers. attracting or screening talent in the knowledge economy.
Indeed, research tells us that for all the energy and
Reform-minded leaders like U.S. Secretary of Education resources poured into licensure systems, certification,
Arne Duncan and Bill Gates have voiced support for and other paper certifications, these credentials explain
similar measures to make better use of our most talented
53 Bill Gates, “How Teacher Development Could Revolutionize our Schools,”
teachers. In a 2010 speech, Secretary Duncan argued Washington Post, February 28, 2011. Available at www.washingtonpost.
that schools and districts should strategically rethink com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/27/AR2011022702876.html?wpisrc=nl_
opinions. For more information on this topic, see Frederick M. Hess and
class size, suggesting “It might be that districts would Olivia Meeks, “Sounding the Alarm: A Wakeup Call with Directions,” Refocus
Wisconsin (Hartland, WI: Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, 2010). Available
vary class sizes by the subject matter or the skill of the at www.refocuswisconsin.org/sounding-the-alarm-a-wakeup-call-with-
teacher.”52 In a February 2011 Washington Post op-ed, directions-by-frederick-hess-and-olivia-meeks.
Gates echoed Duncan’s sentiment, recommending that 54 Ludger Woessmann and Martin R. West, “Class-Size Effects in School Systems
Around the World: Evidence from Between-Grade Variation in TIMSS”
(Institute for the Study of Labor [IZA] Discussion Paper, April 2002.) For further
52 Arne Duncan, “The New Normal: Doing More with Less,” Speech at the discussion, see also Mark S. Tucker and Judy Codding, Standards for Our
American Enterprise Institute, November 17, 2010. Available at www.ed.gov/ Schools (Jossey Bass, 1998); Ronald G. Ehrenberg, Dominic Brewer, Adam
news/speeches/new-normal-doing-more-less-secretary-arne-duncans-remarks- Gamoran, and J. Douglas Willms, “Class Size and Student Achievement,”
american-enterprise-institut. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 1-30.
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no more than about 3% of the observed differences in CaseNEX—a provider of online, scenario-based professional
learning between one classroom and the next.55 development that was incubated at the University of
Virginia—is an example of how this might work.56 With
Thus, even as schools struggle to recruit an ethnically diverse CaseNEX, participants across the United States, Canada,
workforce with subject expertise and essential interpersonal England, France, and Norway meet in person with their local
and organizational skills, candidates must negotiate licensure instructors each week. They access online case materials
arrangements that assume that new teachers will be 22-year- from math and science teachers around the world and
old females who lack viable alternative career options. This discuss these cases with colleagues at other sites using
doesn’t make sense for most any teacher, and it is likely online discussion groups, videoconferencing, chat, electronic
to be especially discouraging for talented science and journals, and e-mail. There is no compelling reason for
math majors, many of whom can hit the ground running in teacher preparation programs to confine their services to a
another, more lucrative career path. particular locale when geographically scattered clients are
seeking similar skills or training.
Some providers—such as High Tech High in San Diego—
have sidestepped the licensure hurdle by becoming Rather than dictating what version of professional
recognized providers. The High Tech High Graduate development will apply to all STEM teachers,
School of Education is a state-recognized certifier administrators could offer a small range of specialized
of California teachers, and administrators have carte professional development options that draw from outside
blanche to set admissions standards, create curricula, and providers, and businesses could even become providers
ensure that their graduates are prepared to be successful of professional development. Government agencies,
teachers. State boards have approved such programs, nongovernment organizations, and private sector firms
empowering High Tech High to serve as an official, have long outsourced math and science training for their
state-recognized training program. Such approval can be employees, and school systems often do the same, but
time-consuming and politically dicey to acquire, and it only among a limited number of providers. Firms like
may require compromising some program elements, but Boeing that have expertise in math and science and an
it offers a powerful way for talent providers to overcome interest in professional development could even consider
obstacles imposed by training and licensure systems. creating a teacher development program as a revenue-
generating arm. The notion that private companies
On the professional development side, existing should provide specialized training for public sector
STEM initiatives often focus on a 20th century employees is not new: companies like Lockheed Martin
model of professional learning that emphasizes already provide specialized training to U.S. government
developing excellent supplemental curricula and tools agencies and the armed forces. Teacher development
or constructing effective and engaging in-person in math, science, and technology represents another
seminars. There is no longer any reason for professional potential market for this type of service.
development to be tied to seat time or in-person
instruction, and it need not be one-size-fits-all, even The key point here is that technological innovation
among teachers in the same discipline. Online delivery and the changing conditions within the teaching force
systems and customizable models of training are needed have created the conditions for a dramatic reshaping
to meet the training demands of tomorrow’s dynamic of teacher training and professional development, and
teaching force. New course offerings from the old leveraged experience and support from the private
30-person seminar paradigm won’t cut it. sector can help bring these changes to districts and
teachers on a broader scale.
55 Dan Goldhaber, “The Mystery of Good Teaching,” Education Next, vol. 2, no.
1 (Spring 2002). Available at http://educationnext.org/the-mystery-of-good-
teaching. 56 More information available at www.casenex.com/casenet/index.html.
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School Redesign
D
ramatically increasing STEM achievement that U.S. colleges issue perhaps 1.4 million four-year
is sure to require mobilizing stakeholders, diplomas a year, schools are trying to bring nearly one
streamlining and raising standards, and finding of seven new graduates into the teaching profession
and retaining better teachers. But taking the leaps and and in front of classrooms of 25 students. It’s no wonder
bounds necessary to catch our international peers in Asia that shortages are endemic and quality is a persistent
and Europe will also require stakeholders to entertain concern, particularly in STEM fields. It does not have
entirely new models of schooling. Many STEM advocates to be this hard. Our massive, three-decade national
have made a case for new designs for schools and experiment in class-size reduction has exacerbated the
systems that more effectively deliver math and science challenge of finding enough effective teachers. There
education.57 Openness to new thinking about how we are other options, especially if we can more strategically
organize teaching and learning in math and science will embrace and inject technology into the equation.
help pave the way for improvements in STEM education.
But to truly update our notion of schooling to fit the 21st Perhaps the most significant impact of education
century, we must get past a set of assumptions about technology is its potential to eliminate obstacles posed
what teaching and learning must look like and whether by geography. Web-based delivery systems can take
“schools” should necessarily be the focal point of our advantage of the wealth of highly educated, English-
reform efforts. speaking people in nations across the globe who are
willing to tutor children at relatively inexpensive rates.
Leveraging the Power of Technology Washington, D.C.–based SMARTHINKING.com uses
Our schools are in a constant, unending race to recruit American and international tutors to provide intensive
and then retain some 200,000 teachers annually. Given instruction to students. Students can log on to the
company’s website 24 hours a day, seven days a week,
57 The Opportunity Equation: Transforming Mathematics and Science
Education for Citizenship and the Global Economy. Carnegie Corporation and work in real time with experts in math, science, and
of New York and Institute for Advanced Study, 2010. Available at http:// other academic subjects.
opportunityequation.org/report.
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When technology is used to deliver instruction or to statistics.60 Both programs provide immediate and
tutoring from a distance, it offers opportunities to continuous feedback to students and instructors, and the
create “classrooms” with large numbers of children learning modules adjust content and assistance to reflect
(as in South Korea or Singapore) and to streamline the student performance on embedded assessments. The
teacher’s role. Florida Virtual School has been a leader Open Learning Initiative courses in STEM fields, which
at the state level in building out virtual classroom approximate college-level introductory courses in math
offerings for its nearly 100,000 students. Its success and science, enable any high school with an Internet
suggests that virtual education is entering a new age connection to provide enrichment opportunities for
of feasibility and scalability, especially in these tight high-achieving math and science students. And because
financial times. As University of Florida professor Cathy the modules are self-paced, adjust to each student’s
Cavanaugh found, in a sample of 20 virtual schools performance, and collect fine-grained data on how
in 14 states, virtual learning’s per-pupil cost in 2008 students are learning the material, these platforms can
($4,300) was less than half the per-pupil cost in the also help educators cater to students who must build
traditional public school ($9,100) in 2006.58 Virtual their basic math and science skills.
learning and other advanced technology education
options make the challenge of finding enough high- Business leaders should keep an eye out for
quality local STEM personnel more manageable. opportunities to help fund and promote new providers of
Technology also makes it easier for schools in different math and science instruction that show promise and are
locations to communicate or share staff and enables cost-effective.
central administrators to deliver support to campuses
hundreds of miles away. Reimagining the Schoolhouse
Thinking outside the classroom-based model of teaching
In addition to virtual schools, advances in online and learning immediately gives rise to larger questions
tutoring and course delivery provide opportunities to about whether our traditional conception of “the school”
inexpensively supplement traditional instruction in math should be the focal point of reform in the push to
and science. Educators should be encouraged to choose improve science and math education. Reform strategies
from a host of interactive, online learning platforms that emphasize strong school cultures, small learning
that teach basic statistics, geometry, and physics, which communities, and school turnaround plans are promising
could augment classroom math and science teaching at incremental changes, but they are all predicated on
a modest cost without requiring schools to find and train a “whole school” view of reform. But when the focus
more full-time teachers. is on whole school reform, it is difficult to distinguish
between the effects of various pieces of the effort or
One such platform, Reasoning Mind, provides middle to gauge cost-effectiveness. As a result, we learn little
schools with self-directed online math instruction.59 At from either successes or failures, and scalability remains
the high school and college level, the Open Learning elusive. Unwinding the DNA of schooling and breaking
Initiative at Carnegie Mellon provides ready-made it down into more granular pieces will help us pinpoint
online modules that cover an array of basic scientific the segments that work best for different demanders.
and mathematical concepts, from introductory chemistry Decomposing the structure of “schooling” will catalyze
more creative restructuring and the development of
a broader spectrum of schooling models that better
58 Cathy Cavanaugh, Getting Students More Learning Time Online: Distance facilitate higher level learning in math and science.
Education in Support of Expanded Learning Time in K–12 Schools
(Washington, DC: Center for American Progress, May 2009). Available at www.
americanprogress.org/issues/2009/05/pdf/distancelearning.pdf.
59 More information available at www.reasoningmind.org. 60 More information available at http://oli.web.cmu.edu/openlearning.
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What do examples of such “unwinding” look like, and miracle cures or embraced as hot new fads. However,
what kind of models should the business community get they do provide a powerful example of how rethinking
excited about? standards, teaching, and school models can offer
radically smarter ways to answer the STEM challenge.
Rocketship Education: Like many high-performance
charter schools, Rocketship serves its elementary Segmenting Services
students in San Jose, California, by emphasizing While the centralized school bureaucracy once
high expectations, recruiting high-quality teachers, seemed the norm, the one-size-fits-all school district
and requiring extensive parent involvement. is increasingly an anachronism in a world of nimble,
However, the school also uses a hybrid model of specialized providers. Today, when providers routinely
classroom instruction, real-time assessments, and segment services according to a variety of consumer
customized supplementary services in the learning wants and needs, it seems ludicrous to insist that
lab. This allows Rocketship to handle whole-class education be provided in predetermined, time-bounded
learning and individual needs separately. blocks to two dozen students at a time. Schooling has a
number of different components, and allowing parents,
School of One: New York City’s School of One is students, and schools to unbundle those ingredients
an intriguing example of how this kind of thinking will better serve individual needs and will open up the
can play out. The School of One allows teachers to market for providers to focus on the one or two things at
customize what a student learns each day on the which they excel.
basis of what he has already mastered and needs
to learn; to do so with an eye toward the ways that Even exquisitely selected and trained experts who have
student learns best; and to organize learning to a contribution to make to STEM education have two
maximize the efficient use of school resources. The options: training district personnel or trying to establish
School of One manages these feats (currently, just a new charter school. The first typically has little impact,
for middle school math) by collecting data on which and the second requires that these folks to tackle a
learning objectives students have mastered and how myriad of challenges (e.g., facilities, finances, and hiring)
they like to learn, then assigning them each day to that have little or nothing to do with their skills in STEM
appropriate lessons. instruction. Enabling such elite, third-party efforts to
find their way into the math and science classrooms of
Florida Virtual School: Florida Virtual is a public entity willing schools or districts—with selection, training, and
that provides instruction to students in schools and accountability in the hands of distinct ventures—will
districts throughout the state, enrolling more than enable firms to specialize in a particular area and respond
97,000 students in its 100+ course offerings. The to particular needs in a more efficient manner.
school provides Web-based classes, instruction, and
assessments to students in a variety of academic Important building blocks must be in place for these
subjects and electives. Like virtual schools operating types of segmented and specialized providers to
in 15 other states, Florida Virtual allows faculty to take root, and the business community can help lay
provide courses to a scattered student population. this groundwork. Most importantly, consumers (i.e.
Programs like Florida Virtual may make it possible to students and their families) must be better informed
provide some academic instruction more cheaply and and more empowered. Much like the target audience
more effectively, freeing resources for other needs. of a product in the private sector, the consumer of
specialized schooling needs greater autonomy on how
We are not suggesting that the School of One or their education dollars are spent and more information
Rocketship or other examples should be regarded as
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on competing providers.61 One way to redirect student to such arrangements without a thriving market for
funding is to develop an education analogue to the providers, but at the same time that market will have
Health Savings Account model in healthcare. Rather than difficulty developing on its own if there is not enough
just paying for students to go to approved school A or demand. The business community can play a positive
B, the state would deposit dollars in a virtual account role in cultivating both ends of this equation.
in the name of each student and then allow parents
to use those dollars to procure services from an array
of state-approved STEM providers. Thus, if a student’s
school didn’t have enough demand to offer AP physics,
a student could use his savings account dollars to attend
classes at the local community college instead.
When it comes to boosting consumer knowledge

about competing providers, third-party assessors—like
those used in the real estate and financial markets—
can provide evaluative data on approved providers,
either though consumer review sites like Angie’s
List or through publications like Consumer Reports.
Intel already leverages their well-respected brand by
endorsing innovative school systems with their “School
of Distinction” awards. Well-known private firms
could bestow a similar “seal of approval” to the best
providers of science, technology, and math instruction,
thereby sending a powerful signal to consumers. See
Profile in Innovation: Innovating to Win on page 45 for
more details.
Such a segmented system would also present more

opportunity for the business community to make
smaller, strategic investments in promising providers
instead of pouring money into large-scale whole school
or whole district reform projects. Business leaders can
play two roles here: one is to create the conditions for
a truly segmented market by financing and supporting
entrepreneurial ventures; the other is to make
investments in and form partnerships with schools and
districts conditional on those systems and organizations
becoming more open to segmented services and third-
party providers. It will be difficult to encourage openness
61 For more information on a specialized system for student funding, see Chester
E. Finn Jr. and Eric Osberg, “Reframing the Choice Agenda for Education
Reform,” in Customized Schooling: Beyond Whole-School Reform, eds.
Frederick M. Hess and Bruno V. Manno (Cambridge: Harvard Education Press,
2011), 27-48. For more information on informing education consumers, see
Jon Fullerton, “The Data Challenge,” in Customized Schooling, 153-172.
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Profile in Innovation
Innovating to Win: Intel’s Schools of Distinction
As the purveyors of the Intel Science Talent Search (STS)—arguably the country’s
oldest and most prestigious science competition for high school students—
this leading IT company is well aware of the power of competition to stimulate
innovation. Over the 68 years of the contest, students across the country have
competed for the pride and financial reward (now $1.25 million) of the STS. Seven
past winners later became Nobel Prize winners, while many others have received
top honors in the field. However, Intel has done much more to leverage the power
of competition to help boost STEM education in the classroom and beyond.
At the K-12 level, Intel has used its well-respected brand to recognize and reward
schools that are especially innovative in their approach to math and science
learning. These “Schools of Distinction” are rewarded for taking bold steps to
improve STEM education, both with school grants and with the prestige of being
labeled a national leader that others will emulate. For instance, Walter Payton
College Preparatory High School in Chicago, Illinois, has set a high bar for
integrating real-world lessons into math education. In a recent visit to the high
school, Chinese President Hu Jintao praised the program: “We are especially struck
by how bright and inquisitive the students are, by your many talents and your all-
around development,” Hu said. “We have decided to invite 20 members of the
faculty and students of this school to visit China in the summer holidays.”1
Intel has also catalyzed STEM innovation in higher education competition, like the
Intel-UC Berkeley Technology Entrepreneurship Challenge (IBTEC). In this business
plan competition, students worldwide compete for $40,000 in prize money and
mentorships with Silicon Valley leaders. The competition has already produced a
handful of multi-million dollar companies across the globe in its six short years.
“By helping these ideas grow,” says Wendy Hawkins, Intel Foundation executive
director, “we are fostering students—such as those present at this competition—
to have a positive impact on society, which will in turn help strengthen the future
global economy.”2
Intel, like all successful businesses, understands and leverages the power of
competition to instill efficiency and excellence, and has helped to do so among
STEM educators and students. In utilizing their corporate standing to spur
innovation, Intel leaders have set an example for others in the business community
who hope to boost STEM learning nationwide.
1 More information available at http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-01-21/news/

ct-met-china-visit-0122-20110121_1_chinese-president-hu-jintao-chinese-companies-payton-students.
2 More information available at www2.haas.berkeley.edu/News/Newsroom/2010-2011/101119magoosh.aspx.
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“America’s high schools are obsolete,”

Gates said. “By ‘obsolete,’ I don’t
just mean… broken, flawed, and
underfunded—though a case could be
Looking
made for every one of those points.
By ‘obsolete,’ I mean that our high
schools—even when they’re working
Forward
exactly as designed—cannot teach our
kids what they need to know today….
This isn’t an accident or a flaw in the
system; it is the system.”
B
usiness leaders involved in education reform have reality, it’s America’s executives and business leaders.
traditionally preferred to embrace successful school Vibrant organizations are those in which production
models and collaborate tranquilly with districts. processes, job descriptions, and organizational
Rather than focus so relentlessly on backing the status assumptions change as the larger world changes.
quo, civic and business leaders would do well to adopt Unfortunately, the business community has too often
as a mission statement the analysis of high schools that failed to project its own expertise in organizational
Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates offered to the National change and optimization onto its efforts to improve
Governors Association a few years ago. “America’s high STEM education. As a result, even the most promising
schools are obsolete,” Gates said. “By ‘obsolete,’ I don’t STEM reform initiatives are likely to pay only incremental
just mean… broken, flawed, and underfunded—though dividends and are unlikely to make the large leaps
a case could be made for every one of those points. By required in STEM education. Moreover, nonprofit
‘obsolete,’ I mean that our high schools—even when and public organizations already have much of this
they’re working exactly as designed—cannot teach traditional ground covered, so the strengths that private
our kids what they need to know today…. This isn’t organizations could bring to the pursuit of STEM
an accident or a flaw in the system; it is the system.”62 progress are often lost in the shuffle.
Addressing America’s challenges in science, engineering,
and math education requires more than donations and Because the private sector is largely free of the
quiet support; it requires unflinching and uncompromising political and membership constraints that make public
community leadership. organizations overly cautious and consensus-driven,
it is exceptionally well-suited to support reform ideas
Most successful public and private sector organizations that expand our conceptions of “schools,” “teachers,”
are dynamic, and if any group lives and breathes this and “instructional delivery” far outside their traditional
contours. The business community should think of itself
62 Bill Gates, Remarks to the National Governors Association, February 26, 2005. not as an anonymous angel investor, providing money
Available at www.nga.org/cda/files/es05gates.pdf.
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so nonprofit experts can experiment with pet projects, Business is uniquely positioned to get tough with school
but as a proactive partner that not only seeks out and boards, superintendents, and state officials. However,
funds the best new ideas and providers in STEM reform too many corporate leaders prefer to avoid conflict that
but also dedicates some of its philanthropic money to can spark bad feelings or negative publicity. They want
developing its own ideas and programs. education reform, but they want it quiet, collaborative,
and calm. But fixing dysfunctional organizations is always
The way forward for business leaders looking for a messy, and taking back prerogatives from entrenched
STEM revolution can be summarized in two principles. interests is inevitably a bruising struggle. The business
The first is the need to unencumber, unleash, and community is a key player in local bond drives and other
unbundle schools. Transformative reform begins by efforts to provide more dollars for schooling. Business
helping educators and reformers throw off the shackles leaders have too often given money, muscle, and support
of the past. The second principle is the need to without demanding substantial reform in exchange. It
rethink, redesign, and reinvest. Business leaders should is time to strike a savvier bargain. The price of support
leave the more cautious work of augmenting and should be serious movement on the various elements of
supporting the status quo to conventional education the STEM agenda.
advocates and focus their energies on helping
educators, policymakers, and reformers reimagine Second, business can play a critical role by lending sorely
American schooling to match the opportunities and needed expert know-how. Business has expertise in
challenges of 21st century STEM education. performance evaluation, human resources, information
technology, and data systems. As the U.S. Chamber of
There are three main ways for businesses to get Commerce has noted, states have an abysmal record
involved: through advocacy, by lending expertise, of providing systematic data on teacher performance
and by partnering with institutions or pursuing market or return on investment; “No business could be run
opportunities that will also promote the cause of with such inadequate information. . . . Education
school improvement. policymakers have invested great energy in gathering
student achievement data, while paying inadequate
First, when it comes to advocacy, business leaders attention to developing the kind of data essential to
are well-positioned to champion accountability, driving organizational improvement.”63 Needless to say,
flexibility, and tough-minded management while these are areas in which business has decades of hard-
reducing the barriers that can impede reform. In recent won experience and where companies can pass on the
decades, business played a critical role in pushing lessons to schools.
states to adopt regular high-stakes assessments in
core subjects. Business efforts on behalf of teacher Business can lend similar expertise on questions as
preparation and curricular alignment have met with mundane as retirement systems. As business leaders
less success, as reformers get snagged in bureaucratic well know, health and retirement benefits are both an
machinery, union opposition, or the sharp edges of enormous cost driver and a potentially powerful tool
existing political fiefdoms. for recruiting and retaining talent. Unfortunately, today’s
school systems operate under antiquated defined-benefit
Business can get out in front on contentious education pension systems. These plans can require employees
reform issues when education innovators themselves to work for a decade or more before they are vested,
cannot. Unfortunately, promising STEM ventures such as and they are not portable across state lines. For young,
Project Lead the Way and STEM-savvy charter schools talented individuals with STEM degrees who are
such as High Tech High must deal delicately with
education authorities to preserve relationships. 63 U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Leaders and Laggards: A State-by-State Report
Card on Educational Effectiveness (February 2007), 82.
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geographically mobile and who may not plan to teach Albert Einstein allegedly observed, “Insanity is doing the
for their entire career, or for career-switchers eyeing same thing over and over again and expecting different
a new profession at 35 or 45, such pension plans are results.” Whether or not the words are Einstein’s, they
a substantial disincentive. Business has much to offer describe a half-century’s worth of STEM improvement
when it comes to helping education leaders design more efforts. Indeed, one must go back to the National
rational benefit plans that can have an outsized impact in Defense Education Act of 1958 for a compelling instance
helping attract and retain STEM talent in the 21st century. of education reformers truly rethinking their assumptions
and redesigning the solutions to address STEM
Third, business is positioned to partner with a variety of challenges. Too often, STEM reform amounts to a well-
entities to model breakthrough possibilities, promote intended effort to superimpose good ideas on a rickety,
smart rethinking, and lend critical support. One example aged set of institutions and organizations. If our current
is science and math partnerships with schools; a more efforts are to deliver more than that, we must combine
intriguing and untapped course is for business to partner good intentions and thoughtful proposals with a fierce
with knowledge-rich institutions to develop and provide commitment to remake America’s schools and school
sources of enrichment. For instance, businesses might systems for the 21st century.
explore partnerships in which they work with local
institutions such as libraries, museums, or colleges to
provide alternative courses of instruction.
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A Survey of
STEM Reports
The Opportunity Equation: Transforming Mathematics Foundations for Success - National Mathematics
and Science Education for Citizenship and the Global Advisory Panel, 2008
Economy - The Carnegie Corporation of New York - This advisory panel—pulled from experts across
and the Institute for Advanced Study Commission on the mathematics field—recommended that math
Mathematics and Science Education, 2009 curriculum to be streamlined, more rigorous in
- Faced with lagging performance in science, content and assessments, and research-based to
mathematics, engineering, and technology, this improve abysmal student achievement in the subject.
Commission released a comprehensive plan for
reforming STEM education by mobilizing across Building a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math
sectors to streamline and raise standards, raise teacher Agenda - National Governors Association, 2007
performance, and redesign school delivery systems. - As longtime leaders on the subject of STEM issues,
the National Governors Association released this
Benchmarking for Success - The International report, advising governors to better align K–12
Benchmarking Advisory Group (National Governors and postsecondary standards with workforce
Association, Council of Chief State School Officers, expectations while increasing teaching capacity and
Achieve), 2008 scaling best practices.
- Convened by three major education policy
stakeholders, this Advisory Group report provides
states with the tools to benchmark their K–12
achievement to that of world leaders in education
in hopes of instilling state and federal governments
with an urgency to reform American education.
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Author Bio
Frederick M. Hess
Resident Scholar and
Director of Education Policy Studies,
American Enterprise Institute
An educator, political scientist, and author,

Frederick M. Hess studies a range of K-12
and higher education issues. He is the author
of influential books on education including
The Same Thing Over and Over, Education
Unbound, Common Sense School Reform, Revolution at the Margins,
and Spinning Wheels, and pens the Education Week blog “Rick Hess
Straight Up.” His work has appeared in scholarly and popular outlets
such as Teachers College Record, Harvard Education Review, Social
Science Quarterly, Urban Affairs Review, American Politics Quarterly,
Chronicle of Higher Education, Phi Delta Kappan, Educational Leader-
ship, U.S. News & World Report, The Washington Post, and National
Review. He has edited widely-cited volumes on education philanthropy,
stretching the school dollar, the impact of education research, and No
Child Left Behind. He serves as executive editor of Education Next, as
lead faculty member for the Rice Education Entrepreneurship Program,
on the Review Board for the Broad Prize in Urban Education, and on
the Boards of Directors of the National Association of Charter School
Authorizers, 4.0 SCHOOLS, and the American Board for the Certifica-
tion of Teaching Excellence. A former high school social studies teacher,
he has taught at the University of Virginia, the University of Pennsylva-
nia, Georgetown University, Rice University, and Harvard University. He
holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University as well
as an M.Ed. in Teaching and Curriculum.
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Author Bio
Andrew P. Kelly
Research Fellow,
Andrew P. Kelly is a research fellow in educa-

tion policy studies at AEI and a doctoral can-
didate in political science at the University of
California–Berkeley. He oversees the higher
education work of AEI’s education policy de-
partment. His research focuses on the politics
of education, higher education transparency and accountability, and
congressional policymaking. Previously, he was a research assistant at
AEI, where his work focused on the preparation of school leaders, col-
lective bargaining in public schools, and the politics of education. His
research has appeared in Teachers College Record, Educational Policy,
Policy Studies Journal, Education Next, Education Week, Insider Higher
Education, and various edited volumes. He is the author of numerous
AEI reports, including “Filling in the Blanks: How Information Can Affect
Choice in Higher Education” and “Diplomas and Dropouts: Which Col-
leges Graduate Their Students (and Which Don’t)?”
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Author Bio
Olivia Meeks
Research Assistant,
Olivia Meeks is a research assistant in education

policy studies at the American Enterprise Insti-
tute and an honors graduate of the University
of Arkansas. Her research focuses on collective
bargaining, customized schooling, and educa-
tional technology, and she is a co-author of the
2011 National School Boards Association report, “School Boards Circa
2010: Governance in the Accountability Era.”
55
National Assessment of
Educational Progress
Fourth Grade, Mathematics, 2009

Eighth Grade, Mathematics, 2009
Fourth Grade, Science, 2009
Eighth Grade, Science, 2009
ECH ECH
NC NC
National Assessment of National Assessment of

Educational Progress Educational Progress
Fourth Grade, Mathematics, 2009 Eighth Grade, Mathematics, 2009
The National Assessment of Educational The National Assessment of Educational

Progress (NAEP) is the only national assessment Progress (NAEP) is the only national assessment
measuring what America’s students know measuring what America’s students know
and can do in various subject areas, including and can do in various subject areas, including
mathematics, science, and reading. Students mathematics, science, and reading. Students
obtaining a score of “Proficient” or above obtaining a score of “Proficient” or above
on NAEP have demonstrated competency on NAEP have demonstrated competency
over challenging subject matter, including over challenging subject matter, including
subject-matter knowledge, application of such subject-matter knowledge, application of such
knowledge to real-world situations, and analytical knowledge to real-world situations, and analytical
skills appropriate to the subject matter. skills appropriate to the subject matter.
State Percentage of State Percentage of State Percentage of State Percentage of

Students At or Students At or Students At or Students At or
Above Proficient Above Proficient Above Proficient Above Proficient
Massachusetts 57 Wyoming 40 Massachusetts 52 Wyoming 35

New Hampshire 56 Rhode Island 39 Minnesota 47 Iowa 34
Minnesota 54 Alaska 38 Montana 44 New York 34
Vermont 51 Illinois 38 New Jersey 44 Alaska 33
New Jersey 49 National Average 38 New Hampshire 43 Illinois 33
Connecticut 46 Nebraska 38 North Dakota 43 Delaware 32
Kansas 46 Texas 38 Vermont 43 National Average 32
Pennsylvania 46 Hawaii 37 South Dakota 42 Michigan 31
Colorado 45 Kentucky 37 Colorado 40 South Carolina 30
Maine 45 Oregon 37 Connecticut 40 Arizona 29
Montana 45 Arkansas 36 Maryland 40 Florida 29
North Dakota 45 Delaware 36 Pennsylvania 40 Rhode Island 28
Ohio 45 Michigan 35 Kansas 39 Arkansas 27
Wisconsin 45 Georgia 34 Washington 39 Georgia 27
Maryland 44 South Carolina 34 Wisconsin 39 Kentucky 27
North Carolina 43 Oklahoma 33 Idaho 38 Hawaii 25
Virginia 43 Nevada 32 Oregon 37 Nevada 25
Washington 43 California 30 Indiana 36 Tennessee 25
Indiana 42 Arizona 28 North Carolina 36 Oklahoma 24
South Dakota 42 Tennessee 28 Ohio 36 California 23
Idaho 41 West Virginia 28 Texas 36 Alabama 20
Iowa 41 New Mexico 26 Virginia 36 Louisiana 20
Missouri 41 Alabama 24 Maine 35 New Mexico 20
Utah 41 Louisiana 23 Missouri 35 West Virginia 19
Florida 40 Mississippi 22 Nebraska 35 Mississippi 15
New York 40 District of Columbia 17 Utah 35 District of Columbia 11
Note: The national averages above reflect the percentages at or above proficient for mathematics and science in grades 4 and 8 for all national public studen
The national averages (public, all) here may differ from averages cited previously in text which reflect national averages (all). More information available at na
ECH ECH
NC NC
National Assessment of National Assessment of

Educational Progress Educational Progress
Fourth Grade, Science, 2009 Eighth Grade, Science, 2009
The National Assessment of Educational The National Assessment of Educational Prog-

Progress (NAEP) is the only national assessment ress (NAEP) is the only national assessment
measuring what America’s students know measuring what America’s students know and
and can do in various subject areas, including can do in various subject areas, including math-
mathematics, science, and reading. Students ematics, science, and reading. Students who
obtaining a score of “Proficient” or above obtain a score of “proficient” or above on NAEP
on NAEP have demonstrated competency have demonstrated competency over challeng-
over challenging subject matter, including ing subject matter, including subject-matter
subject-matter knowledge, application of such knowledge, application of such knowledge to
knowledge to real-world situations, and analytical real-world situations, and analytical skills appro-
skills appropriate to the subject matter. priate to the subject matter.
State Percentage of State Percentage of State Percentage of State Percentage of

Students At or Students At or Students At or Students At or
Above Proficient Above Proficient Above Proficient Above Proficient
New Hampshire 47 Maryland 33 Montana 43 Texas 29

Virginia 46 South Carolina 33 North Dakota 42 Illinois 28
Kentucky 45 Tennessee 33 Massachusetts 41 Maryland 28
Massachusetts 45 Florida 32 Minnesota 40 Tennessee 28
North Dakota 45 Illinois 32 South Dakota 40 Georgia 27
Minnesota 43 National Average 32 New Hampshire 39 Rhode Island 26
Montana 43 New York 30 Utah 39 Delaware 25
Maine 42 North Carolina 30 Wisconsin 38 Florida 25
Iowa 41 Arkansas 29 Idaho 37 Oklahoma 25
Ohio 41 Texas 29 Ohio 37 Arkansas 24
Wisconsin 41 Oklahoma 28 Colorado 36 North Carolina 24
Connecticut 40 West Virginia 28 Missouri 36 South Carolina 23
Missouri 40 Alabama 27 Virginia 36 Arizona 22
South Dakota 40 Georgia 27 Wyoming 36 West Virginia 22
Colorado 39 Hawaii 25 Connecticut 35 New Mexico 21
New Jersey 39 Louisiana 25 Iowa 35 California 20
Pennsylvania 38 New Mexico 24 Maine 35 Louisiana 20
Utah 38 Nevada 23 Michigan 35 Nevada 20
Wyoming 37 Arizona 22 Oregon 35 Alabama 19
Idaho 35 California 22 Pennsylvania 35 Hawaii 17
Indiana 35 Mississippi 17 Kentucky 34 Mississippi 15
Washington 35 New Jersey 34
Note: Alaska, the District Note: Alaska, the District
Delaware 34 Washington 34
of Columbia, Kansas, of Columbia, Kansas,
Michigan 34 Nebraska, and Vermont did Indiana 32 Nebraska, and Vermont did
Oregon 34 not have sample sizes large New York 31 not have sample sizes large
enough to report results for enough to report results.
Rhode Island 34 these states/jurisdictions. National average 29
nts in 2009.
tionsreportcard.gov/math_2009/ and at nationsreportcard.gov/science_2009.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
1615 H Street NW
Washington, DC 20062
Phone: 202-463-5525
www.uschamber.com/icw

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The Case for

Frederick M. Hess | Andrew P. Kelly | Olivia Meeks

© Institute for a Competitive Workforce, April 2011

Frederick M. Hess, Andrew P. Kelly, Olivia Meeks

15 Where Matters Stand

19 Two STEM Challenges

23 Needed: Bold Business Leadership

27 Making New Standards Count

51 A Survey of STEM Reports

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

“Everybody in this room understands that our

—President Barack Obama, 2010

1 Press release, “Remarks by the President at the

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

4 See, for example: Raising the Bar: Employers’ Views on College

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

only major stakeholders that have the freedom, reason,

Where Matters Stand

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

NAEP, also known as our “Nation’s Report Card,” fewer

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

Research suggests that teachers are also feeling this

First launched in 2008 in public schools, APTIP is at work in

- 155% increase in math, science, and English AP exams

By leveraging the power of incentives for underserved

1 More information available at www.nationalmathandscience.org/index.php/

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

Third, business leaders should be brave enough to

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

In 1993, Merck launched the Merck Institute for

Among MISE’s celebrated initiatives are their on-

“Partnering with MISE provides our district educators

1 More information available at www.app.com/article/CN/20100916/

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

monitoring the lunchroom, supervising Profile in Innovation

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

When it comes to boosting consumer knowledge

Such a segmented system would also present more

1 More information available at http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-01-21/news/

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

“America’s high schools are obsolete,”

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

An educator, political scientist, and author,

Andrew P. Kelly is a research fellow in educa-

Institute for a Competitive Workforce

Olivia Meeks is a research assistant in education

Fourth Grade, Mathematics, 2009

National Assessment of National Assessment of

The National Assessment of Educational The National Assessment of Educational