Afterschool programs: At the STEM of learning (January 2008)

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• In 2005, roughly 29 percent of fourth- and eighth-grade students participating in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reached or exceeded the proficient level in science. Among 12^th-graders, only 18 percent reached or exceeded proficient. In 2007, 39 percent of fourth- grade participants and 32 percent of eighth-grade participants scored at or above proficient in math.[2] 
• In 2006, 15-year-olds in the U.S. ranked 22^nd in math and 19^th in science among developed nations. Among these countries, the U.S. has the fourth largest gap between high- and low-income students.[3]
• Among high school graduates, the percentages of blacks and Hispanics ages 25 to 29 in 2000 who had completed bachelor’s or higher degrees in science and engineering stood at 21 percent and 15 percent respectively, compared with 36 percent for whites.[4]
• Students on temporary visas earned 32 percent of all science and engineering doctorates awarded in the United States in 2003. Fifty-five percent of engineering doctorates and approximately 43 percent of U.S. doctorates in mathematics, computer sciences, and agricultural sciences were awarded to students on temporary visas.[5]

• Public Agenda’s Reality Check 2006 finds that 45 percent of students would be “really unhappy if [they] ended up in a job or career that required doing a lot of math and science.”[7]
• As youth get older they report significantly less interest and self-confidence in their science ability. Children ages 6-12 report a high level of interest and belief in their science abilities; by age 14, interest and self-confidence related to science drops off.[8]
• Interest in science careers among eighth-graders can be a better predictor than test performance in determining which students will pursue careers in science.[9]
• More than 90 percent of afterschool programs funded by 21^st Century Community Learning Centers offer STEM activities, providing more time for children and youth to gain skills and build interest in the STEM fields.[10]

• Minneapolis and St. Paul’s STUDIO 3D (Digital, Design, and Development) brings advanced computer technology projects to economically disadvantaged youth. Working with mentors, program youth participate in activities that use fundamental principles of math, geometry and engineering, such as 3-D digital animation, robotics, web design and computer programming. They have even used their skills to put some of their projects, complete with instructions, on a Studio 3D website. (www.smm.org/studio3d/projects.html)[14]
• Michigan’s KLICK (Kids Learning in Computer Klubhouses) serves middle school children throughout the state. KLICK students get to put their new computer knowledge to immediate use by engaging in projects that help their community. For example, one student developed and maintains the websites for the local 911 service and his own parents’ dry cleaning business. Students also give computer lessons to community members and troubleshoot computers at their own schools.[15]
• Girls Inc. Operation SMART^® (Science, Math and Relevant Technology), since the early 1980s, has engaged 617,000 girls and young women ages 6-18 in the hands-on, inquiry-based fun of exploring the natural world. Many science and math programs, both in and out of school, operate with girls as an afterthought. At over 1,000 Girls Incorporated^® program sites in the United States and Canada, girls are front and center, getting comfortable with power tools and computers, and investigating insects and mechanical problems as they become scientists. Girls work directly with scientists, engineers, and other professionals—archaeologists in Girls Dig It^SM, computer professionals in Eureka! ^®, and environmental scientists and astronomers in Thinking SMART^SM. Evaluations conducted by Girls Inc. affiliates indicate that girls gain skills and confidence in doing math and science and are more likely to consider careers in these fields.[16] The scientists, engineers, and mathematicians among Girls Inc. “graduates” credit their days in Operation SMART with expanding their minds and their options.[17]
• The St. Louis Science Center launched the Youth Exploring Science (YES) program in 1997 to provide low-income, minority teens from community organizations with four years of opportunities to explore scientific concepts through inquiry-based experiences and then to teach others.  As part of their teaching duties, YES teens facilitate science and mathematics activities in the community, including at other afterschool programs. YES teens start as volunteers but eventually become Science Center employees and earn wages. Of the 35 high school seniors in the 2006 program, 24 have been accepted into one or more colleges. One former student has graduated with a degree in biology from Grambling State University and hopes to go to medical school. Others have graduated with teaching degrees.[18]
• A recent evaluation of Kinetic City After School, a program managed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, found significant increases in reading and writing proficiency along with science skills. Children participating in the program showed improvements not only in their knowledge of standards-based science content-- which is to be expected of a science program-- but also in their ability to read a seventh-grade level reading assignment, and compose a letter based on the information in the passage. The children also showed more interest in science careers, and were more likely to have engaged in science activities "just for fun."[19]