Rationale:

STEM educational progress in K-12 should raise the STEM elements of standardized test scores and AP participation. SAT and ACT scores are a key indicator of a school systems ability to prepare students for college entrance. State data should be benchmarked against national data.

• Average standardized test scores on STEM elements in public high school
• Average standardized test scores for students with FIRST participation
• Average standardized test scores for students with HiEST participation
• AP participation in math and science

  Measures/ Sources:
  K-12 Standardized Test Scores, National Center for Education Statistics, www.nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard
  Average Standardized Test Scores, Measuring Up, The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, www.highereducation.org
  AP Testing, The College Board, www.collegeboard.com
  AP Tests by Subject, NGA Center for Best Practices, A Competitive Benchmarking of the Hawaii Economy, 2007
  SAT/ACT Scores, College Entrance Exams, The College Board, www.collegeboard.com
  SAT/ACT Scores College Entrance Exams, Education Testing Service, www.ets.org
  Average SAT Score, NGA Center for Best Practices, A Competitive Benchmarking of the Hawaii Economy, 2007

Rationale:

Efforts to improve STEM education should result in a higher number of students matriculating to 2 and 4 year degree programs.

Measures/ Sources:
Percentage of 18-24 year olds in college, Measuring Up, The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, www.highereducation.org

Rationale:

Enrollment in STEM majors should increase as a result of FIRST and HiEST Academies participation.

Measures/ Sources:
University of Hawaii enrollment for Math, Science, Engineering, Computer Science majors and Associate degree programs in applied technology.

Rationale:

Improved STEM Education should improve both high school and college graduation rates. This will enable the state to view the level of education and the state ability to sustain an innovation economy. State data should be benchmarked against national data.

1. High School Graduation Rates
2. Associate Degrees in STEM related fields
3. Bachelors Degrees, or Higher Awarded in STEM related fields

   Measures/ Sources:
   Census Bureau, American Fact-Finder, factfinder.census.gov
   Ph.D. Graduates, National Science Foundation, caspar.nsf.gov
   Graduation Rates, Measuring Up, The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, www.highereducation.org
   Secondary and Post Secondary Graduation Rates, NGA Center for Best Practices, A Competitive Benchmarking of the Hawaii Economy, 2007
   Secondary and Post Secondary Graduation Rates, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), U.S. Dept. of Education

Rationale:

Efforts to improve the economy should result in higher paying jobs, as reflected by rising average wages.

Measures/ Sources:
Growth in Average Wage, Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/cew
Growth in Median Household Income, Census Bureau, American Fact-Finder, factfinder.census.gov

An innovation-fueled economy should experience an increase in overall productivity.

Measures/ Sources:
State Domestic Product per worker, Economy.com, www.economy.com

1. R&D spending at the University of Hawaii

   Rationale:

   University Research and Development adds to the knowledge base of a region and is essential to long-term economic growth. R&D spending at universities creates opportunities for partnerships between education and industry that can significantly benefit retention of companies and talented students. Data should be compared on a per capita basis to the nation.

   Measures/ Sources:
   R&D Spending and Spending Per Capita, National Science Foundation, caspar.nsf.gov
   NSF Survey of R&D Expenditures at Universities and Colleges, /caspar.nsf.gov

2. Technology Transfer, Rate of Public and Private Commercialization:

   Rationale:

   The rate of successful university commercialization is a major source of new technology products and new companies. Most private commercialization data would need to be collected from local sources, such as trade publications, business journals, or surveys and interviews at local companies to develop a system for benchmarking commercialization in the region.

   Measures/ Sources:
   Licensing Agreements and Commercialization, University of Hawaii, Office of Technology Transfer and Economic Development (OTTED), www.mic.hawaii.edu
   Public Commercialization, Association of University Technical Managers, www.autm.net
   Public Commercialization, Chronicle of Higher Education, chronicle.com/stats/techtransfer
   Private Commercialization, Gazelle Companies, Progressive Police Institute, www.neweconomyindex.org/states/2002/03_dynamism_02.html
   Private Commercialization, Inc 500 Companies, Inc Magazine, www.inc.com/inc500

Rationale:

New companies are vital to developing new products and supporting number of new startups in growth industries.

Measures/ Sources:
New Firm Starts, Small Business Administration, www.sba.gov/advo/research
Patents, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, patft.uspto.gov
Venture Capital Investment, PWC/Venture Economics
SBIR Grants, Small Business Administration, www.sba.gov/sbir/indexsbir-sttr.html

Rationale:

Staying competitive in the modern global economy increasingly requires a greater supply of skilled labor. Innovation companies choose regions with a reliable and flexible supply of local talent.

Measures/ Sources:
Occupational Employment Statistics Survey, www.bls.gov/oes/home.htm
Regional Workforce, Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/oes/home.htm
Average Wage, Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/cew
Unemployment Rates, Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/lau

Rationale:

Talented individuals with high technology skills migrate to where they are most likely to succeed and to where innovation prospers. We would like to minimize the loss (out migration) of such talent and maximize the acquisition (in-migration) of such occupations.

Measures/ Sources:
Migration, "Migration of the Young, Single, and College Educated: 2000-2005," www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/censr-12.pdf
Percentage of occupations requiring post secondary training, Workforce Development Council
U.S. Bureau of the Census: Net Migration Statistics

Rationale:

Because increasing the skill level of the workforce through new workforce entrants is a slow process it is critical to raise the skill level of the existing (incumbent) workforce to help keep the economy competitive. This is the major avenue lower-skilled individuals have to increase their earning power.

Measures/ Sources:
Percentage of working adults enrolled in post secondary training, Measuring Up, The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, www.highereducation.org