A Vital Partnership for the Future:

AP® and STEM Education in the United States

By: By former Gov. Gaston Caperton
Issue: Fall 2009

The United States is at a crossroads. In one direction we encounter U.S. world leadershipin industry, manufacturing and research through investment in human capital, especially in science, technology, engineering, and math – often referred to as the “STEM fields.” In the other direction we see an uncertain future in which other established countries such as Germany and Japan and those emerging as world powers – e.g., China and India – take the lead in fields in which we have traditionally dominated.

The long-term consequences of such shifts in leadership are uncertain. One thing, however, is clear: Few in the United States believe these shifts will be positive for the social and economic vitality of our country.

For most of the 20th century, the United States was the world leader in education with the highest high school and college completion rates, giving us a huge global advantage in the quality of our workforce. Now, as aging, well-educated baby boomers approach retirement, they will be replaced by a growing number of younger citizens without college degrees – many even will not have finished high school. I believe our ability to educate greater numbers of Americans will likely determine our competitive viability in the next century.

Although American universities still lead the world in research and scholarship, many students do not have access to a high-quality high school education that could prepare and inspire them to enroll in and graduate from college. This is especially true in science, technology, engineering and math – the very fields that will propel the U.S. economy in the coming decades. A greater investment in STEM education could, however, remedy this potentially dire situation. The 2006 report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm, laid out a strong case for investment in math and science education. Consider some of the statistics cited in the report:

  • In South Korea, 38 percent of all undergraduates receive their degrees in natural science or engineering. In France, the figure is 47 percent, in China, 50 percent and in Singapore, 67 percent. In the United States, the corresponding figure is 15 percent.
  • Some 34 percent of doctoral degrees in natural sciences (including the physical, biological, earth, ocean and atmospheric sciences) and 56 percent of engineering Ph.D.s in the United States are awarded to foreign-born students.
  • The United States is today a net importer of hightechnology products. The trade balance in high technologymanufactured goods shifted from plus $54 billion in 1990 to negative $50 billion in 2001.

Falling Behind in Science and Math

To reverse these statistics, we need to prepare young people for success, and the best way to begin is to fortify the education pipeline with well-educated teachers. In 2000, only 7 percent of fifth- through ninth-grade science teachers either majored or received certification in the physical sciences. Thirty-one percent of ninththrough twelfth-grade students in U.S. schools were taught by math teachers with no certification in their subject, and the percentage rises to 67 percent for physics students.

Of course, the lack of adequate preparation of a large percentage of STEM teachers means that the next generation of students also suffers. In addition, a National Research Council study reveals that middle-school mathematics and science courses lack focus, cover too many topics, repeat material and are implemented inconsistently.

It will come as no surprise that these problems are most acute in schools attended by high percentages of lowincome and minority students, all but ensuring that they will be left out of the STEM profession pipeline. As a country, we need to take a hard look at what we value and act accordingly. If we want to compete in a global economy, we must reward those who excel in STEM fields whether they teach the next generation or design tomorrow’s technologies. There are currently few incentives for talented students to enter STEM fields or the teaching profession. While a lawyer or marketing manager may have an annual salary of more than $100,000 a year, an architect or engineer will earn little more than $70,000 and a teacher only $52,000.

The AP Advantage

The good news is that the country has begun to realign its priorities. American students are working harder and achieving more, and our schools continue to improve. There are programs available to students today that have been proven to increase student success. Perhaps the largest and most important of these is the Advanced Placement Program®(AP). Studies show that participation in AP classes increases both college graduation rates and general performance. We believe that AP can be an anchor for a major national STEM push.

The United States can increase the number of students in science and mathematics fields in a number of ways:

  • Train more teachers, especially AP teachers. Rising Above the Gathering Storm recommends that the nation “strengthen the skills of 250,000 teachers through training and education programs at summer institutes, in master’s programs, and in Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) training programs,” thereby increasing the number of courses for students to take.
  • Identify those students likely to succeed in rigorous courses like AP through the PSAT/NMSQT given in tenth and eleventh grades, thus enabling schools to use AP Potential, a free tool that can identify students likely to do well in AP classes. (www. collegeboard.com/appotential).
  • Increase federal funding for the Advanced Placement Incentive Program (APIP), most of which is used to increase AP access and success among underrepresented students.
  • Through legislative or executive action, require all high schools to offer AP courses and exams in at least the four core areas: mathematics, science, English and social studies.
  • Combine federal funds and the College Board AP Fee Reduction to make the AP exams free for all students from low-income families.

Research shows that the most important predictor of college success for a student is not his or her high school grade point average (GPA), Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) score or extracurricular activities. Rather, it is the quality and rigor of their high school courses. Students who take more rigorous courses, such as Algebra II, trigonometry and AP calculus, are the most likely to enroll in and complete college. Additionally, by providing students with the opportunity to enroll in challenging courses during high school, these students will have the confidence and motivation to set and achieve high goals, such as graduating from college.

There is more reason for hope. A recent TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) assessment ranked U.S. calculus students 15th (out of 16 countries) in the international advanced mathematics assessment. AP calculus students who scored a 3 or higher on the AP calculus exam ranked first in the world. Even AP calculus students who scored a 1 or 2 on the AP calculus exam – below the “passing” score – were ranked second in the world. AP physics students, as compared to other U.S. physics students and physics students internationally, were also at the top of the ranking.

Other examples of the power of AP include:

  • After taking AP math and science courses, students perform at much higher levels in intermediatelevel college math and science courses than non- AP students with the same SAT scores.
  • Students, including women and minorities, participating in AP math and science courses choose to major in science, technology, engineering and mathematics at dramatically higher rates than other students.
  • Studies show that students who take AP math and science courses choose to major in science, technology, engineering and mathematics at dramatically higher rates than other students who did not take AP courses and exams in the STEM fields.

Conclusion

Our country is beginning to understand the choices we face. If we are to maintain our position in the world, access to rigorous college-preparatory experiences in the STEM fields must be open to all students. Working together, we can use AP as a lever for increasing access to and participation in STEM subjects for more American students from all backgrounds. Our country’s continued economic prosperity in an increasingly complex and technology-centered world depends upon it.

Gaston Caperton, a former two-term governor of West Virginia, is the eighth president of the College Board, a not-forprofit membership association founded in 1900 that consists of 5,000 of the nation’s leading schools, colleges and universities. Among its best-known programs are the Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) and the SAT®. Since his appointment in 1999, Caperton has transformed the College Board into a resolutely mission-driven, values-oriented organization that takes bold steps to connect greater numbers of students to college success and opportunity while raising educational standards. He has more than doubled the size of the College Board’s staff, modernized its management structure and established www.collegeboard.com, the nation’s predominant comprehensive Web site serving nearly 4 million students a year as they plan their paths to college.