Sen. Franken is one of the most outspoken advocats for expanding and developing Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) education in Minnesota and America. He has worked with educators and communities to trying to expand STEM education because it prepares students for the jobs of today and of the future.

In statewide exams last year, just 48 percent of Minnesota students scored at a level that would be considered proficient in science. That was down from 49 percent a year earlier. The Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment II science test was taken last spring by fifth-graders, eighth-graders and high-school students.

Keep those test results in mind as you consider this fact: The fastest job growth in Minnesota and across the nation is in STEM-related industries. Over the past 10 years, growth in STEM jobs was three times as fast as in non-STEM jobs, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. And STEM occupations are projected to grow by 17 percent in the decade ending 2018, compared to 9.8 percent for non-STEM occupations.

Indeed, while millions of workers in other occupations suffer job losses and falling incomes, shortages of skilled STEM workers are a worry to U.S. businesses, the Commerce Department said.

U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., is among many officials calling for dramatic gains in STEM education. Franken has co-sponsored legislation that would, among other features, invest in recruiting, training and supporting more STEM teachers.

Particularly alarming to educators and lawmakers alike is the gap between white students and students of color who make up Minnesota's fastest growing population. At the 8th grade level in Minnesota, just 15 percent of black students, 20 percent of American Indians and 19 percent of Hispanics earned test scores deemed to show proficiency in science this year. That compares with 52 percent of white students.

Clearly, the state's economic future depends on closing that gap.

 

Read the whole article here.