How Schools and States Are Addressing the Challenge

Developing the innovation workforce of tomorrow and promoting continued economic growth requires expanding opportunity and ensuring excellence in K-12 math and science education, which is a two-part agenda. One, states and districts should give all students opportunity and access to challenging content, and two, states and districts should develop policies and programs that focus on excellence and preparation for technical fields. Pursuing this two-part agenda will help deliver the promise of a workforce prepared for the challenges of the knowledge-based economy.

Opportunity in Math and Science

The first step to expanding opportunity - and ensuring that America retains its competitive edge in innovation - is to ensure that all students have access to rigorous, relevant and exciting math and science curriculum content. In too many high schools across America, and especially high schools that primarily serve low-income youth or students of color, students are not challenged or expected to master essential skills in math and science.

That's a major reason why states are beginning to upgrade their statewide high school graduation standards and course requirements to require three or four years of mathematics, including algebra II, and three or four years of rigorous science, including laboratory sciences such as biology, chemistry and physics. Click here to learn more about state and local efforts to restore value to the high school diploma.

Excellence in Math and Science

Second, public school districts, state education policymakers and the federal government should strengthen the pipeline of future innovation workers by creating opportunities to achieve excellence in math and science for talented students. Sixteen national business organizations have recognized the need for a comprehensive approach to strengthen the U.S. pipeline of talent and joined together in a national coalition called Tapping America's Potential (TAP). The coalition's ambitious goal:

Double the number of science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduates with bachelor's degrees by 2015.

According to the TAP coalition's major policy statement called The Education for Innovation Initiative, federal, state and local investments in improving math and science education are essential. Business leaders - no matter what size their company is or where their hiring pool comes from - can take action to reverse the decline in American excellence in math and science education. Among the coalition's five recommendations are three that call for action in K-12 education at the federal and state levels:

• Build public support for making math and science improvement a priority.
• Motivate students to study and enter science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers, especially girls, low-income students and students of color.
• Upgrade K-12 math and science teaching.

TAP members are leveraging their ability to develop creative solutions to tackle America's greatest - and most vital - challenges. TAP members in Washington, D.C. have launched an initiative to educate federal government leaders about these issues and meet with members of Congress and various executive branch leaders to advocate their position.

In August of 2007, President Bush signed into law the America COMPETES Act, bipartisan legislation that seeks to enhance education, research, and innovation in the United States. Passage of the law represents the culmination of several years of work by federal policymakers in response to growing concerns about America’s competitiveness in the world. Among other provisions, America COMPETES establishes training and professional development programs to strengthen the skills of math and science teachers, helps states recruit math and science teachers for high-needs schools and districts, and provides incentives for states to align K-12 curriculum with expectations for college and careers.

TAP will continue to reach out to state and local officials, where most education policy and funding decisions are made. As the work becomes more decentralized, it will become all the more important for new businesses and organizations to join the coalition, especially those with ties to particular states and communities.

Tapping Ohio's Potential

One state has adopted the TAP agenda as its own. In June 2006, over sixty organizations and individuals representing the education and business communities in Ohio formed Tapping Ohio's Potential (TOP), a statewide coalition aiming to double the number of college graduates in the STEM fields by 2015. TOP focuses exclusively on state-level policy and was a chief advocate in 2006 for the adoption of Ohio Core, a law passed in January 2007 that mandates Ohio adopt and develop college- and career-ready graduation standards, graduation requirements and assessments. TOP is also a member of the Ohio STEM Learning Network, a public-private partnership launched in January 2008 with a $50 million investment to build STEM-focused schools and Programs of Excellence.