Arizona, We Have A Problem: The State Of S.T.E.M. Education

In Arizona the results are sounding the warning bells. Of all students statewide, 60% are failing English Language and 67% are failing math according to the 2022 assessment. And yet all we hear from a system incapable of teaching our children basic academics are demands for more money. The Arizona state budget for 2023-24 is $17.8 billion of which $9.3 billion is allocated to K-12 education. When do we stop giving money to a system that can’t do what it is paid to do?
 

esults are also discouraging when it comes to statewide science assessments. In 2018 and 2019, 50% of students statewide were not successful at passing the AIMs science assessment, and the 2021 and 2022 results from the new assessment AzSCI are yet to be made public.

And what about the educational rigor and curricula developed for K-12. Are we truly preparing students to become not only critical thinkers but also future scientists and engineers? And while every student may not aspire to be a doctor, scientist or engineer, is it unreasonable to expect that a graduate leave with at least the high school level of understanding of these subjects in order to be an informed member of our society? Have Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (S.T.E.M.) initiatives provided the needed reforms? Are our general educational and STEM dollars being directed to impactful programs or only those that merely mirror the political agenda? Comparing the two philosophies is like comparing the difference between environmental conservationists such as President Theodore Roosevelt versus environmental activists as Greta Thunberg.

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