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Center for Minority Achievement in Science and Technology
Center for Minority Achievement in Science and Technology
DIVISIONS
Did You Know?
› While 53% of international graduate students studied either engineering or sciences in 2006, only 16% of U.S. students did.
Graduate Enrollment and Degress, 1996-2006 (Council of Graduate Schools). 
› In the U.S. workforce women hold more than half of professional positions overall, but fewer than 22% of software engineering positions.
National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) 
› Girls comprise just 10% of all Advance Placement (AP) computer science AB exam-takers.
National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) 
› The mean GPA for African American engineering graduates was 2.5, for Hispanic engineering graduates 2.39, and for non-minority engineering graduates 2.67.
Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), 1990. 
› By 2010, the American population will be one-third “minority” (Hispanic/Latino, African American, Native American, Asian).
U.S. Census Bureau, 2000. 
› The shortage of highly qualified math and science teachers in the United States is projected to reach 283,000 by 2015.
National Center for Education Statistics, 2005. 
› 3 out of 10 first-year college students in the United States are placed into a remedial course.
National Center for Education Statistics, 2000. 
› The federal government spent approximately $2.8 billion in fiscal year 2004 to fund over 200 programs designed to increase the number of students in STEM fields and employees in STEM occupations and to improve related educational programs.
2006 GAO Report on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Trends and the Role of Federal Programs 
› Women represent just 9.5% of the nearly 1.5 million bacherlor's-degreed engineers employed in the United States.
2008 Confronting the New American Dilemma: A Data-Based Look at Diversity (CPST) 
› American students ranked lower in science than their peers in 16 other industrialized nations, out of 30 countries in that category.
2006 Program for International Student Assessment 
› 70% of registered voters – approx 91 million people- believe the U.S. public education system needs to be completely replaced or changed in a significant way.
Public Agenda Survey 
› High school freshmen in public school graduating in four years, 2004-05: 74.7 percent
National Center for Education Statistics 

Research and Evaluation
Standards, capacity, and accountability are not only the pillars of educational excellence but also that of proven, research-based STEM outreach and education programs. During a time when the federal government, private and corporate foundations are increasing their interest and investments in STEM education programs, it’s imperative that these programs are based on collective lessons learned and best practices.

“In a limited-resource context, criteria for determining which programs should be funded and scaled up must consider not only whether programs do what they are intended to do, but whether the outcome is worthwhile.” National Science Board, National Action Plan for Addressing the Critical Needs of the U.S. STEM Education System (2007)

The Division of Research and Evaluation will serve as a lead in defining rigorous evaluation criteria and conducting evaluations of minority-focused STEM programs. CMAST will work with partners, academia, and industry to develop commonly recognized, peer-reviewed standards for ensuring accountability, scalability, and sustainability of existing and newly created initiatives. In conjunction with existing repositories and nationally recognized initiatives, the Division will serve as a clearinghouse for the identification, development, and dissemination of best practices in STEM education for minorities.

Our goal is to make this information available via an integrated and interactive web-based system with the support of our sponsors and partners.

The following R&E efforts are all aimed at ensuring that STEM-focused programs and organizations as well as funders are supported with the necessary data to make informed decisions and create and grow successful programs:
  • Research and Evaluation Projects

  • Case Studies, Surveys, and Focus Groups

  • Data Collection and Warehousing

  • Policy Development and Review