STEM scholarships for 12th graders come way, way too late, writes Andrew Rotherham on Eduwonk. Many low-income, Black and Hispanic students are off the STEM path by third or fourth grade.
Chinese students excel in math. Photo: Public Domain Pictures/Pixabay
“That’s why an equity agenda – not equity in the way the word is increasingly being used in our sector but rather the idea of compensatory strategies aimed at equal opportunity – is so important.”
America is flunking math, write mathematicians Percy Deift, Svetlana Jitomirskaya and Sergiu Klainerman on Persuasion. Weak K-12 instruction means “fewer young Americans are adequately prepared to embark on a career in STEM.”
Chinese students lead the world in math proficiency, reports the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. America rank 37th.
According to our own experiences at the universities where we teach, an overwhelming majority of American students with strong math backgrounds are either foreign-born or first-generation students who have additional support from their education-conscious families. At all levels, STEM disciplines are more and more dependent on a constant flow of foreign talent.
The latest fad is billed as “anti-racist” and “equitable” math, they write.
. . . Cities are considering scrapping academic tracking and various gifted programs in schools, which they deem “inequitable.” This is despite the fact that such programs are particularly effective, when properly implemented, at discovering and encouraging talented children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
It’s the pipeline, they conclude.