National	Center	for	Science	and	Engineering	Statistics	

Social,	Behavioral	and	Economic	Sciences	

National	Science	Foundation	

Elementary and Secondary STEM 

Education 

Susan Rotermund and Amy Burke 

November 2–4, 2021 

2021 FCSM Research & Policy Conference 
National	Center	for	Science	and	Engineering	Statistics			https://ncses.nsf.gov	

Presentation Outline

• How	does	the	United	States	compare	internationally	in

mathematics	and	science	achievement?	

• What	do	scores	on	a	national	mathematics	assessment	tell	

us	about	the	performance	of	U.S.	students?	

• How	do	STEM	teacher	qualifications	vary	by	school	

characteristics?	

• What	trends	are	we	seeing	in	STEM	high	school	

coursetaking	and	are	STEM	high	school	experiences	

associated	with	choice	of	postsecondary	STEM	majors?	

2	
How does the United States compare 

internationally in mathematics and 

science achievement? 

3	
National	Center	for	Science	and	Engineering	Statistics			https://ncses.nsf.gov	

U.S. ranks higher internationally in science 

literacy than in mathematics literacy 

• In	mathematics,	U.S.	15-year-olds	in	2018	ranked	25th	among	37	

OECD	countries	on	the	PISA	assessment	

• In	science,	U.S.	15-year-olds	in	2018	ranked	7th	among	37	OECD	

countries	on	the	PISA	assessment	

• Japan,	South	Korea,	Estonia,	and	the	Netherlands	were	the

highest-scoring	OECD	countries	in	mathematics	in	2018,	and	

Estonia	and	Japan	were	the	highest	scoring	in	science.	

4	
National	Center	for	Science	and	Engineering	Statistics			https://ncses.nsf.gov	

International science scores improve 

5	

Average	scores	of	U.S.	15-year-old	students	on	the	PISA	mathematics	and	

science	literacy	scales:	2003–18	

Source:	Organisation	for	Economic	Co-operation	and	Development	(OECD),	PISA,	2003,	2006,	2009,	

2012,	2015,	and	2018.	https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pisa/pisa2018/index.asp#/math/intlcompare.	

420 

440 

460 

480 

500 

520 

540 

560 

2003 2006 2009 2012 2015 2018 

Average mathematics score Average science score 
What do scores on a national 

mathematics assessment tell us about 

the performance of U.S. students? 

6	
National	Center	for	Science	and	Engineering	Statistics			https://ncses.nsf.gov	

Math achievement scores essentially unchanged since 

2007 

7	

Average	scores	of	students	in	grades	4	and	8	on	the	NAEP	mathematics	

assessment:	1990–2019	

Source:	National	Center	for	Science	and	Engineering	Statistics,	special	tabulations	(2020)	of	the	2009,	

2011,	2013,	2015,	2017,	and	2019	NAEP	mathematics	assessments,	National	Center	for	Education	

Statistics.	

200 

220 

240 

260 

280 

300 

320 

1990 1992 1996 2000 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 

Students in grade 4 Students in grade 8 
National	Center	for	Science	and	Engineering	Statistics			https://ncses.nsf.gov	

Score disparities by race or ethnicity persist 

8	

Average	scores	of	students	in	grade	8	on	the	NAEP	mathematics	assessment,	by	race	

or	ethnicity:	2011–2019	

Source:	National	Center	for	Science	and	Engineering	Statistics,	special	tabulations	(2020)	of	the	2011,	2013,	

2015,	2017,	and	2019	NAEP	mathematics	assessments,	National	Center	for	Education	Statistics.	

200 

220 

240 

260 

280 

300 

320 

2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 

Asian White Two or more races 

Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 

Black 
National	Center	for	Science	and	Engineering	Statistics			https://ncses.nsf.gov	

Score disparities also seen among other 

groups 

9	

Average	scores	of	students	in	grade	8	on	the	NAEP	mathematics	assessment,	by	sex,	

socioeconomic	status,	disability	status,	and	English	language	learner	status:	2019	

Source:	National	Center	for	Science	and	Engineering	Statistics,	special	tabulations	(2020)	of	the	2019	NAEP	

mathematics	assessments,	National	Center	for	Education	Statistics.		

200 220 240 260 280 300 320 

All students 

Male 

Female 

Eligible for free or reduced-price lunch 

Not eligible for free or reduced-price lunch 

Has a disability 

Does not have a disability 

English language learner 

Not English language learner 

Grade	8	score	
How do STEM teacher qualifications vary 

by school characteristics? 

10	
National	Center	for	Science	and	Engineering	Statistics			https://ncses.nsf.gov	

Access to experienced teachers varies by school poverty 

level 

11	

Public	middle	and	high	school	mathematics	and	science	teachers	with	3	years	or	fewer	of	

teaching	experience,	by	school	poverty	level:	2017–18

Source:	National	Center	for	Science	and	Engineering	Statistics,	special	tabulations	(2020)	of	the	

2017–2018	National	Teacher	and	Principal	Survey,	National	Center	for	Education	Statistics.	

0	 5	 10	 15	 20	 25	

Science teachers 

Mathematics teachers 

School Poverty Level 

0%–34% 

35%–49% 

50%–74% 

75% or more 
National	Center	for	Science	and	Engineering	Statistics			https://ncses.nsf.gov	

Teachers with in-field degrees more prevalent at lowpoverty schools 

12	

Public	middle	school	mathematics	and	science	teachers	with	in-field	subject-matter	

preparation,	by	teaching	field	and	school	poverty	level:	2017–18	

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 

75% or more 

50%–74% 

35%–49% 

0%–34% 

School poverty level 

Middle school mathematics teachers Middle school science teachers 

Source:	National	Center	for	Science	and	Engineering	Statistics,	special	tabulations	(2020)	of	the	

2017–2018	National	Teacher	and	Principal	Survey,	National	Center	for	Education	Statistics.	
What trends are we seeing in STEM high 

school coursetaking and are STEM high 

school experiences associated with 

choice of postsecondary STEM major? 

13	
National	Center	for	Science	and	Engineering	Statistics			https://ncses.nsf.gov	

More students are taking STEM AP exams 

14	

0 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 350,000 

Calculus AB 

Calculus BC 

Statistics 

Biology 

Physics 

Chemistry 

Environmental Science 

Computer Science 

Number 

Subject 

2019	 2009	

Number	of	students	taking	AP	STEM	exams,	by	selected	subjects:	2009	and	

2019	

Source:	College	Board,	AP	Program	Participation	and	Performance	Data	2019.	https://

research.collegeboard.org/programs/ap/data/participation/ap-2019.			
National	Center	for	Science	and	Engineering	Statistics			https://ncses.nsf.gov	

Differences by sex seen in AP STEM exam-taking 

15	

0	 10	 20	 30	 40	 50	 60	 70	 80	 90	 100	

All AP subjects 

Biology 

Environmental Science 

Statistics 

Chemistry 

Calculus AB 

Calculus BC 

Physics 1 

Computer Science Principles 

Physics 2 

Physics C: Mechanics 

Computer Science A 

Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism 

Percent 

Subject 

Male Female 

AP	exam	takers	in	selected	subjects,	by	sex:	2019	

Source:	College	Board,	AP	Program	Participation	and	Performance	Data	2019.	https://

research.collegeboard.org/programs/ap/data/participation/ap-2019.			
National	Center	for	Science	and	Engineering	Statistics			https://ncses.nsf.gov	

Math and science identity in high school associated with 

choice of postsecondary STEM major 

16	

Among	fall	2009	students	in	grade	9	who	enrolled	in	postsecondary	education	after	high	school,	

percentage	who	reported	that	their	current	or	most	recent	major	was	in	a	STEM	field,	by	

perception	of	mathematics	and	science	identity	and	ability	

0 

10 

20 

30 

40 

50 

I see 

myself 

as a 

math 

person. 

I am 

confident 

in my ability 

to do an 

excellent 

job on 

math tests. 

I am 

certain 

that I can 

master 

math skills. 

I see 

myself 

as a 

science 

person. 

I am 

confident 

in my ability 

to do an 

excellent 

job on 

science tests. 

I am 

certain 

that I can 

master 

science skills. 

Percent 

Identity and ability 

Agree Disagree 

Source:	National	Center	for	Science	and	Engineering	Statistics,	special	tabulations	(2020)	of	

the	High	School	Longitudinal	Study	of	2009	(HSLS:09),	First	Follow-Up	and	Second	Follow-Up.	
National	Center	for	Science	and	Engineering	Statistics			https://ncses.nsf.gov	

Check out more information and analysis in Science and 

Engineering Indicators Elementary and Secondary STEM 

Education 

17	
Contact 

18	

Contact:	Amy	Burke,	aburke@nsf.org