Improving U.S. Competitiveness with K-12 STEM Education and Training. Heritage Special Report. SR-57. A Report on the STEM Education and National Security Conference, October 21-23, 2008

Overview & Synopsis

From October 21 to 23, 2008, The Heritage Foundation, supported by the McCormick Tribune Foundation, convened leading education and national security experts as well as private-sector representatives to discuss methods for strengthening America's competitiveness by improving its performance in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. This report attempts to describe the current state of STEM education, summarize the main points discussed at the conference, and present the conference attendees' conclusions on how to improve STEM education and advance America's defense capabilities and economy. This report is aimed at education and private-sector leaders as well as at national defense strategists, but can also be useful to other interested parties. The private sector and defense industry will need to work closely with education reformers to create a feasible plan for improving the current state of STEM education: Success in both industry and defense is vitally linked and inextricably tied to the capabilities of the STEM workforce. The report makes the following recommendations to federal and state policymakers and to the private sector: (1) Strengthen the quality of the elementary and secondary teacher workforce, particularly in STEM subjects; (2) Reform the traditional public school system to encourage greater innovation and superior instruction; (3) Implement aggressive reforms to change the governance of the traditional public school system; and (4) Resolve the H-1B visa shortage.