STEM Education Reform Needed To Compete With China

Article: The Importance of STEM Education for Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction

While the Biden administration’s ongoing quest to forgive student loans has repeatedly captured headlines, a far more significant initiative, Advance Educational Equity, fails to address a significant American weakness: the development of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), the fields that drive our modern world. These fields are the bedrock of innovation, technological advancement, and national security.

The Need for Improvement in STEM Education

The 2022 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), or “The Nation’s Report Card,” showed a first-ever drop in average math scores for nine-year-olds and persistent stagnation in math and reading over fifteen years. Teenagers’ math scores in 2023 hit their lowest since the 1970s. This is unsurprising, given the U.S. has no comprehensive national science or technology education strategy. American students perform worse than their OECD peers, displaying a lack of critical mathematical skills and hard science knowledge.

China’s Emphasis on STEM Education

China is embracing a different approach. In the past few years, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has gone to great lengths to emphasize the importance of STEM. As the tech race between the U.S. and China has grown more contentious, so has Xi’s rhetoric. Xi has now doubled on initiatives like his Made in China 2025 Plan, and China’s education incentives now graduate double the number of Ph.D.s in STEM each year compared with the U.S.

Foreign Adversaries and the Need for Reform

This is not the first time a foreign adversary’s technological strides have spurred the U.S. educational system into much-needed reform. When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the U.S. responded with the 1958 National Defense Education Act. This laid the groundwork for America’s subsequent technological ascendancy through a mix of decentralized and well-funded initiatives in STEM.

Funding Data Literacy Efforts

One neglected area in which funding could make an immediate difference is in data literacy efforts. Data literacy involves the ability to read, interpret, understand, and communicate data effectively, essential skills for thriving in STEM and analyzing its data for those outside the field. Multiple legislative efforts to do this have already taken off, such as the Mathematical and Statistical Modeling Education Act and the Data Science and Literacy Act, which seek to modernize the current education system by providing funding for data literacy efforts and educational programming.

The Semiconductor Industry and Talent Shortage

America faces a potential 300,000-engineer shortage in the semiconductor industry by 2030. If this comes to pass, 80% of technical jobs in the space could go unfilled, dealing a blow to CHIPS Act efforts to re-shore chip production and leaving the U.S.’s overreliance on Taiwanese-produced chips intact.

Fixing Immigration Procedures

Fixing this issue could be as easy as streamlining obvious immigration procedures. Opposition to bringing workers qualified for the chips industry stateside has made legislators skittish, as has the usual hot-button nature of the immigration debate. However, inaction means leaving over one-third of the industry’s workforce in limbo, as many technicians are foreigners.

Restoring Competitiveness

Options to restore competitiveness should include H-1B visa reform for STEM graduates and an expedited green card category for STEM Ph.D.s. Lacking sufficient talent will mean fewer and more expensive chips, which may slow down chip-intensive activities like training AI. An AI slowdown could hurt productivity growth and competition with China in defense-related fields.

Conclusion

The STEM crisis threatens to undermine everything Americans have come to think of our prosperous way of life. That is what’s at stake, along with the U.S.’s goal of keeping leading-edge technologies out of the hands of an increasingly authoritarian and revanchist Chinese Communist Party. If America still plays a global power game, it should step up.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Analysis

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 4: Quality Education
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

The article discusses the need for educational reform in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), which is connected to SDG 4. It also highlights the importance of innovation and technological advancement in these fields, which aligns with SDG 9. Additionally, the article mentions the issue of inequality in STEM education and the need for equitable access to educational opportunities, which relates to SDG 10.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• Target 4.3: By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational, and tertiary education, including university.
• Target 4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs, and entrepreneurship.
• Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people and public and private research and development spending.
• Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic, and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion, or economic or other status.

Based on the article’s content, the targets mentioned above are relevant. These targets emphasize the need for equal access to quality education, the development of relevant skills for employment, the promotion of scientific research and technological capabilities, and the promotion of social and economic inclusion.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Indicator 4.3.1: Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months.
• Indicator 4.4.1: Proportion of youth and adults with information and communications technology (ICT) skills, by type of skill.
• Indicator 9.5.1: Research and development expenditure as a proportion of GDP.
• Indicator 10.2.1: Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income, by age, sex, and persons with disabilities.

The article implies the need to measure indicators such as participation rates in STEM education and training programs (Indicator 4.3.1), the proportion of individuals with ICT skills (Indicator 4.4.1), research and development expenditure as a proportion of GDP (Indicator 9.5.1), and the proportion of people living below a certain income threshold (Indicator 10.2.1).

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Table

Behold! This splendid article springs forth from the wellspring of knowledge, shaped by a wondrous proprietary AI technology that delved into a vast ocean of data, illuminating the path towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Remember that all rights are reserved by SDG Investors LLC, empowering us to champion progress together.

Source: forbes.com

Join us, as fellow seekers of change, on a transformative journey at https://sdgtalks.ai/welcome, where you can become a member and actively contribute to shaping a brighter future.