In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world’s first satellite into space. This shocked Americans, who, for the previous decade, felt as th

Even if you think education is a local issue, STEM is key to national security

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2024-11-27 16:30:03

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world’s first satellite into space. This shocked Americans, who, for the previous decade, felt as though their place as the world’s superpower was non-negotiable and secure. For the first time since World War II, America’s global standing was at risk.

What happened next was the most dedicated, coordinated effort to advance science and technological education in our nation’s history. Sputnik helped Americans realize that investing in science, technology, education, and mathematics (STEM) was crucial to ensuring national security and resisting the Soviet Union’s growing power. In response, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the National Defense Education Act of 1958, arguably the most successful investment in STEM education. The law, which provided funding for mathematics education in K-12 schools and established the first government-funded student loan program in history, more than doubled the number of students enrolled in college from 3.6 million in 1960 to 7.5 million by 1970. The NDEA shaped an entire generation and set the U.S. on a path toward decades of innovation and scientific discovery.

Today, we once again find our global standing to be threatened. Across the board, K-12 students struggle to meet math and reading proficiency standards. This is an economic and national security crisis. There is a growing consensus that our students are falling behind, especially in math and science. This is unsurprising. Across the U.S., there is a shortage of teachers qualified with degrees in STEM-based education. At the same time, China is outpacing us in manufacturing and science education, producing tens of thousands more STEM graduates each year than the United States. Chinese and Indian students also represent a growing number of international students in the United States, making up a combined nearly three-quarters of all international STEM students. While some of these students choose to remain in the U.S. after graduation, many go home, taking their world-class education back with them and benefiting other nations.

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