Interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) careers remains high—but college readiness in STEM fields is lagging, according to ACT’s 2014 National STEM Report.
“The challenge is that there are plenty of students who want major in and eventually be employed in STEM roles but not enough of these students are prepared to succeed academically in STEM, making it difficult to move into these occupations,” says Steve Kappler, Vice President, Brand Experience at ACT. “The interest is there but the higher level math and science preparation isn’t.”
The report, which you can read in full on ACT’s website, redefines STEM to include science, computer science, mathematics, medical and health, and engineering and technology.
5 key findings—and implications for admissions and enrollment managers
According to the report:
1.Interest in STEM remains high. Similar to last year, approximately half (49 percent) of ACT-tested 2014 graduates—nearly 900,000 students—had an interest in STEM. However, of those students who expressed interest, nearly half (49 percent) expressed an interest in STEM that was not corroborated by their responses on the ACT Interest Inventory.
2.Achievement levels in math and science need to improve. Overall, just 43% of ACT-tested 2014 graduates met the ACT College Readiness Benchmark in math, and only 37% met the Benchmark in science.
3.Achievement levels are highest when interest in STEM is both measured and expressed. “Where there’s congruence between the student’s inherent and expressed interests, student achievement soars,” Kappler says. “They are more apt to graduate high school, go to college, get better grades in college, graduate in their fields, and experience work success.”
“Colleges that pay attention to the education and career planning information, like what is in the ACT Interest Inventory, can successfully leverage that information for recruitment and retention strategies,” he adds. “For example, the University of Georgia and the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities are successfully using this information not just in the admissions process but as part of the process of onboarding students so that students can get on the right path from the beginning.”
4.Female interest in STEM is high. Males are more likely than females to be interested in STEM, but the actual number of females who are interested in STEM is quite high. Male interest in STEM tends to be driven by engineering and math, while female interest is driven by medical/health and the sciences.
5.Interest in teaching STEM remains low. This likely reflects on key finding two, as well. “This is the most troubling finding,” Kappler says. “Interest in teaching in STEM is painfully low for the number of STEM teachers we’re going to need.”
“This is a challenge we will face in our country for a long time until address the issues of prestige and pay for educators in our country. In higher performing countries, teaching is revered as one of the most important professions in the country, and teachers are paid well and held in high regard and high esteem.”
State-based data
“As we did last year, for each STEM area we included the physical number of students interested in each major on a state-by-state basis, so you can see which state has the most student interest in which majors to help target recruitment efforts,” Kappler said. “Since this is both a national report and state level report for every state, it’s an excellent tool for a STEM-based recruitment plan.”
View and download the full report here.
For more in-depth exploration of this and other recruitment and retention issues, consider attending AACRAO's 2015 Annual Meeting in Baltimore this April!