Excerpt

Historically, there has been a strong connection between increasing educational attainment in the United States and the growth in and global leadership of the economy. Consequently, there have been calls—from the College Board, the Lumina and Gates Foundations, and the administration—to increase the postsecondary completion rate in the United States from 39 percent to 55 or 60 percent. The challenge is greatest for underrepresented minorities: In 2006 only 26 percent of African Americans, 18 percent of American Indians, and 16 percent of Hispanics in the 25- to 29-year-old cohort had attained at least an associate degree. The news is even worse in S&E (science and engineering) fields. In 2000, as noted in Gathering Storm, the United States ranked 20 out of 24 countries in the percentage of 24-year-olds who had earned a first degree in the natural sciences or engineering. Based on these data, Gathering Storm recommended efforts to increase the percentage of 24-year-olds with these degrees from 6 percent to at least 10 percent, the benchmark already attained by several countries. But again, the statistics are even more alarming for underrepresented minorities. These students would need to triple, quadruple, or even quintuple their proportions with a first university degree in these fields in order to achieve this 10 percent goal: At present, just 2.7 percent of African Americans, 3.3 percent of Native Americans and Alaska Natives, and 2.2 percent of Hispanics and Latinos who are 24 years old have earned a first university degree in the natural sciences or engineering.

Contents

• The National Academies
• Committee on Underrepresented Groups and the Expansion of the Science and Engineering Workforce Pipeline
• Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy
• Acknowledgment of Reviewers
• Summary
  • A TRANSFORMATIONAL MOMENT
  • AMERICA’S SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING TALENT AT THE CROSSROADS
  • THE JOURNEY BEYOND THE CROSSROADS
• INTRODUCTION
  • 1. A Strong Science and Engineering Workforce
    • ORIGINS OF THE STUDY
    • BROAD PARTICIPATION MATTERS
    • CHARGE TO THE COMMITTEE
    • INFORMATION GATHERING
    • ORGANIZATION OF REPORT
  • 2. Dimensions of the Problem
    • EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
    • EDUCATION AND THE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING WORKFORCE
    • TRACKING POSTSECONDARY INTEREST AND COMPLETION
    • TAKING STOCK
• BECOMING SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS
  • 3. Preparation
    • FROM A NATION AT RISK TO AMERICA AT THE CROSSROADS: K-12
    • NATIONAL MARKERS FOR UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES
    • THE K-12 SPECTRUM
  • 4. Access and Motivation
    • AUGMENTING THE POOL
    • ASPIRING TO COLLEGE
    • MAJORING IN STEM
    • SUSTAINING INTEREST AND MOTIVATION
    • REPRISE ON FOUR APPROACHES
  • 5. Affordability
    • FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND COLLEGE COMPLETION
    • COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY
    • FINANCIAL SUPPORT IN STEM PROGRAMS
    • SUPPORT FOR UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES IN STEM
  • 6. Academic and Social Support
    • ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION
• CONCLUSION
  • 7. The Journey Beyond the Crossroads
    • PRINCIPLES
    • INSTITUTIONAL ROLES
    • LEADERSHIP
    • DEVELOPING A PROGRAM
    • PROGRAM CHARACTERISTICS
  • 8. Recommendations and Implementation Actions
    • PREPARATION
    • POSTSECONDARY SUCCESS
    • TOP PRIORITY ACTIONS
• Bibliography
• Appendixes
  • Appendix A Charge to the Study Committee
  • Appendix B U.S. Senate Letter to the National Academy of Sciences
  • Appendix C Committee Member Biographies
  • Appendix D Agendas for Public Meetings
  • Appendix E Recommendations on STEM Education from Rising Above the Gathering Storm
  • Appendix F Ingredients for Success in STEM
  • Appendix G Baccalaureate Origins of Underrepresented Minority PhDs
  • Appendix H An Agenda for Future Research

This study was supported by grants between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and Otto Haas Charitable Trust #2.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.