STEM in Tennessee-How is my home state approaching this need

In my last several posts I have spoken about STEM and many STEM-related programs that encourage young people to consider Science, Technology, Engineering and Math related careers such as MathCounts, ACE Mentor, and GK-12.  My post today will focus more closely on STEM in Tennessee and one of the resources that is web-based for teachers throughout the state.

StemResources, supported by the Tennessee Department of Education,  is available on the web and has the following information in one place:

• Standards
• STEM Apps
• STEM Teacher Resources

There is good reason for Tennessee and many states to be concerned about STEM issues.  The STEM-related site “Change the Equation” contains a useful map that shows related statistics on a state-by-state basis related to stem.

Here are some basic statistics for Tennessee:

Math (8th graders)

below basic  35%
proficient or above  25%

Percentage of 9th graders who graduate in 4 years

66%

Percentage of 8th graders who say they rarely write science-related reports

60%

Not great figures, but here are the same for two higher-achieving states:

Massachusetts                      North Dakota

Math (8th graders)

below basic                                   15%                                      14%
proficient or above                        52%                                      43%

Percentage of 9th graders                       77%                                      81%
graduating in 4 years

Percentage of 8th graders                      35%                                      58%
who say they rarely write
science-related reports

Even our better states have room for improvement.

What is your state, your community, your school system doing to promote STEM-related studies?