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Please enjoy this week's edition of the STEM Ed Update.

Coalition Update

US Reps Kilmer & Bucshon Encourage Continued Development of National AP Engineering Course

The STEM Ed Coalition and its Members have worked with the offices of Congressman Derek Kilmer (WA06) and Larry Bucshon (IN08) on the importance of including engineering in National Advanced Placement curriculum. This week, the offices released a statement in in support of an AP Engineering course.

Read more here.

Top Article:

Cutoff Scores Set for Common-Core Tests

Education Week

In a move likely to cause political and academic stress in many states, a consortium that is designing assessments for the Common Core State Standards released data Monday projecting that more than half of students will fall short of the marks that connote grade-level skills on its tests of English/language arts and mathematics.

Read more here.

Stay in the Know:

Latest STEM Education Policy News Across the U.S.

Retiring U.S. Congressman Rush D. Holt, Ph.D., to Lead the World's Largest General Scientific Society

AAAS

Congressman Rush D. Holt, Ph.D., who will retire from the U.S. House of Representatives at the end of his eighth term, has agreed to join the world's largest general scientific organization, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), as chief executive officer and executive publisher of the Science family of journals.

Read more here.

Why We Must Have Computer Science In More Schools And Classrooms

Forbes

In most US schools today, computer science is not considered a core academic subject. According to K-12 computer science advocacy coalition Computing in the Core, only 15 states offer core academic credit for computer science classes.

Collectively, a smaller percentage of American high school students take computer science courses today than they did 20 years ago, according to the College Board. However, the skills learned through these courses-critical thinking, logic, cross-team collaboration, and problem solving, among others-are fundamental for success in the twenty-first century.

Read more here.

Does Science Education Need A Civic Engagement Makeover?

Engaging Science

Even though the political campaign signs have been brought inside following Election Day, social studies and government classrooms will continue to discuss civics throughout the school year. According to the National

Council for Social Studies, the goal of social studies is to promote civic competence, or the knowledge and intellectual skills to be active participants in public life. Yet, engaging with the most complex public issues of our time-biodiversity, climate change, water scarcity, obesity, energy, and HIV/AIDS-also requires a deep understanding of the scientific process.

Read more here.

Agriculture Workforce Demands Young Job Candidates, STEM Education

Farm Futures

A report from the STEM Food & Ag Council has found that there's a growing gap between the number of graduates in agriculture-related science, technology,

engineering and math fields and the number of available employment opportunities. Released at the World Food Price Borlaug Dialogue last month, the report analyzes employment and enrollment in six fields: Agricultural business and management; Agriculture mechanization and engineering; Animal sciences; Plant and soil science; Food science and technology; and other life sciences.

Read more here.

Why Veterans Make Good Cyberwarriors

Wired Workplace

It's no secret the ranks of the federal cybersecurity workforce are notably thin. Think tank studies and media reports put the shortage of federal cyber professionals at anywhere from 30,000 to more than 10 times that in the broader labor force. It's a matter of supply and demand, federal officials attest: a glut of open positions for protecting the dot-gov domain and a lack of qualified personnel to fill them.

Read more here.

From Around the Community

Code.Org - Anybody Can Learn

Thanks to Disney Interactive, Code.org's signature tutorial for the 2014 Hour of Code features Disney Infinity versions of Disney's "Frozen" heroines Anna and Elsa.

Do you want to code a snowman?

Washington Facts: STEM Edition

In the United States innovation is a "central driver" of economic growth says a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report looking at federal policies and innovation.

Both the OECD and the CBO agree that the impact of the recession and the moderate pace of recovery on innovation and innovation policies have been considerable. At 1.6 percent, gross expenditure on R&D in OECD countries over the period 2008-2012 was half the rate it was for the years 2001-2008 when it was at 3.2 percent.

Read more here.

Outlier: STEM School Study

Outlier is excited to release the first round of findings from the STEM School Study (S3). These findings include the 8 Elements of inclusive STEM high schools, an interactive Roadmap of the path to STEM school success, and an updated Infographic that explores how STEM schools enact the 8 Elements on a daily basis.

Read more here.

STEM: Paths - An Interactive Christmas Experience

We invite you to support and participate in our next event: an Interactive Christmas Experience for children living in DC public housing communities. Youth, parents, and stakeholders will get to enjoy unique interactive experiences with STEM competitions, coaching, teamwork, building, and more. This STEM carnival will include at least 20 educational experiences and will encourage participating youth to choose from a variety of potential STEM careers. The event will also include giveaways of STEM toys.

Find out more here.

Join the Coalition!

We at the STEM Education Coalition hope you have enjoyed this week's edition of the STEM Ed Newsletter.

Any organization may join the Coalition, and there is no cost to become an Affiliate Member. Affiliate members are listed on our website, receive periodic communications on policy matters, and will be signed up for the weekly newsletter.

Your organization can also apply to join the Coalition's Leadership Council, where they play an active role in setting the public policy agenda for the Coalition and are invited to participate in frequent interactions with policymakers.

If you would like to join the Coalition at any level, please read our message to prospective members or email us at [email protected].

We appreciate your continued support and involvement.

Our Coalition's Co-Chairs

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