The Congressional Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Caucus and the Congressional Academic Competition: History and Current Practice
Released: 2014-02-20T00:00:00

Congressional STEM Education Caucus

In the 108 th Congress (2003-2004), Representatives Vernon Ehlers and Mark Udall launched what was then known as the bipartisan Science and Math (STEM) Educational Caucus. The caucus has been registered as a congressional Member organization (CMO) in the House of Representatives under a variety of names since its debut. In this report, the caucus will be referred to as the Congressional STEM Education Caucus. For a list of the caucus name variants and the co-chairs, see Appendix A , Table A-1 .

The caucus seeks to strengthen STEM education at all levels (K-12, higher education, and the workforce) by providing a forum for Congress and the science, education, and business communities to discuss problems and solutions related to STEM education. The focus on STEM education was due in part to a report to Congress that warned of perceived weaknesses in the existing U.S. STEM education system. The report, published by the National Academies, stated that without improved performance and participation in STEM fields, national prosperity and power may be threatened. For a detailed analysis of U.S. STEM education, see CRS Report R42642, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education: A Primer , by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed].

House STEM Competition

Legislation

On February 26, 2013, Representative Candice Miller, chair of the House Committee on House Administration, introduced H.Res. 77 , the Academic Competition Resolution of 2013. (See Appendix B .) The Academic Competition has alternately been referred to as the House Academic Competition, the STEM Competition, and the Congressional STEM Competition. In this report, it will be referred to as the Congressional STEM Competition.

The competition is loosely modeled after the Congressional Art Competition but was organized under different rules with regard to funding.

Regulations

On November 20, 2013, the Committee on House Administration adopted the regulations governing the Congressional STEM Competition. (See Appendix C .) The regulations address the technology platform for the app; conduct of the competition; use of a disclaimer on endorsements; use and characteristics of apps; and specific information to assist the participating congressional districts, such as use of the franking privilege, Member Representational Allowance (MRA), advertising, gifts and awards, and use of personal funds to supplement the MRA.

Rules

As indicated earlier, the first Congressional STEM Competition focuses on the creation of a useful app. The 2014 competition is called the House Student App Challenge. The rules for the House Student App Challenge were issued on January 8, 2014, and clearly define who may participate, how to determine if a specific district has opted to participate, and how to enter. The rules also address judging criteria, winner selection, verification, prizes, publicity, and limitations of liability.

The 2014 House Student App Challenge

Congressional offices had until January 31, 2014, to register as a participant in the House Student App Challenge—the first Congressional STEM Competition to promote innovation in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. As of the closing date, 137 Members had registered for the competition. The competition ends on April 30, 2014, and on May 30, 2014, participating Members will submit their district winners to the House. The district winners will be posted on House.gov.

Eligibility

Any student who lives in or is eligible to attend high school in a participating congressional district may compete. This includes students who are homeschooled. Participants must be 13 years old as of February 1, 2014. Teams may participate but team size is limited to four students, two of whom must reside in or be eligible to attend high school in the congressional district.

Registration

Interested students may register on Challenge.gov between 12:00 p.m. (EST) on February 1 and 12:00 p.m. (EDT) on April 30, 2014. A designated congressional staff member in a participating Member's office is available to assist students with the registration process on Challenge.gov. Once a student registers on Challenge.gov, he or she is directed to ChallengePost.com for further information and instructions on how to submit the demonstration video.

Submission of App

Students are to submit a three-minute demonstration video of their app along with an entry form on ChallengePost.com. ChallengePost supports YouTube and VIMEO. Because the entry may be solely judged on what appears in the video submission, applicants are advised to demonstrate the scope and quality of their app succinctly in two minutes followed by a one minute description of how they created the app and what they learned as a result of the process. All submissions must be in English and applicants must also allow for the source code for the app to be available for inspection by the judges. An individual may appear on only one entry either alone or as part of a team. Once the submission period has ended, the submitted app cannot be modified in any way.

Conducting the Challenge

Congressional office coordinators of the Congressional STEM Competition were advised to connect with teachers in the district to solicit participation and to set up educational events. These events may include STEM fairs or other related promotional activities in the district. In addition, the offices were advised to promote the event on the participating Member's website, social media, ads, etc.

Congressional staff is responsible for selecting experts to act as advisors and judges and determining the criteria for winning entries. Once the submission deadline for apps has passed, staff will meet with judges to monitor the progress of the judging. The program recommends that staff take an active role in the post-submission phases of the competition by reviewing the videos selected for in-person judging, arranging for the final judging event, winner selection, and the awards ceremony. The staff will notify the Committee on House Administration of the winner and provide the winning entry and background materials for House posting.

An instructional aid called the STEM District Tool Kit-Local Roles has been created to assist congressional staff with conducting the competition in the district. Additionally, multiple resources are available on HouseNet under the heading "Resources for Students and Teachers," including guides to teach kids programming, self-taught code writing courses, and a tutorial for developing apps on Android phones and in Apples and Windows environments.

Judging

Members are free to select judges of their choice and the judges are not required to reside or work in the congressional district. The app challenge rules suggest that the apps be scored according to the quality of the idea, including creativity and originality; implementation of the idea, including user experience and design; demonstrated excellence of coding and programming skills; and impact. According to the rules, the judges may make determination solely on the demonstration video in which the app is running and demonstrating all of its features. The apps are not required to be demonstrated in-person. Entries that are conceptual and do not have a working program may be considered. If any Member elects to have entries judged as a concept, the contestants in that Member's district will be notified. The judging is scheduled from May 1 to May 30, 2014.

Recognizing Winners

Winners may be recognized by the Member in a district awards ceremony, and although it will be the Member's prerogative to have second or third place winners, there will only be one overall district winner. The overall winner from each district will be featured on House.gov and Challenge.gov followed by recognition through a display in the Capitol honoring all district winners. No official Washington, DC, ceremony will be scheduled at the end of the competition. However, individual Members of Congress may elect to hold an awards ceremony in the district.

The Member determines the amount of the MRA that will be used for the competition. In general, the MRA may be used to promote, advertise, and administer the competition. Prizes authorized by the Members' Handbook include certificates, folders, and frames of nominal value. (See Appendix D .)

Congressional Co-Chairs

The co-chairs for the House Student App Challenge are Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Representative Anna Eshoo (D-CA). Representatives Goodlatte and Eshoo are also co-chairs of the long-standing Congressional Internet Caucus.

Appendix A. Congressional Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Caucus

Appendix B. Text of the Academic Competition Resolution of 2013

House Committee on Administration Academic Competition Resolution of 2013

H.Res. 77

In the House of Representatives, U. S .,

February 26, 2013.

Resolved ,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This resolution may be cited as the ''Academic Competition Resolution of 2013''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The House of Representatives finds as follows:

(1) STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields and knowledge have been integral to the development of civilization over the centuries.

(2) STEM fields have been, and continue to be, vital to a healthy and thriving United States.

(3) STEM fields are even more important in a world and nation of continuous and rapid technological advancements and needs.

(4) STEM fields are necessary to ensure a qualified national workforce and growing American economy, and a recent study predicted that one-half of all STEM jobs in 2020 will be related to the field of computer science.

(5) A recent study found that less than one-third of eighth graders in the United States showed proficiency in mathematics and science.

(6) A recent study found that only 9 States allowed computer science courses to count toward high school students' core graduation requirements.

(7) A recent study found that only one-third of the bachelor's degrees earned in the United States are in a STEM field.

(8) A recent study found that more than one-half of the science and engineering graduate students in institutions of higher education in the United States are from outside the United States.

(9) Efforts to encourage students to work in STEM fields will enhance collaborative efforts between our secondary education systems and STEM-related fields and industries.

(10) The global economy demands that the United States continue to lead the world in innovation, creativity, and STEM-related research.

(11) Bringing together Members of Congress and their younger constituents to participate in activities that will result in a deeper appreciation for STEM fields will foster enthusiasm for education in the sciences.

(12) The support which students will gain through Congressional recognition of their work on STEM-related projects will encourage them to pursue career paths in STEM studies and research.

(13) It is appropriate for the House of Representatives to institute a new and worthwhile competition to encourage students to participate in STEM studies and research.

(14) Rapid technological change means the competition will evolve over time and will challenge students in specialized areas of science, technology, engineering and math to ensure maximum participation. Because of the importance of computer science it would be appropriate to initially challenge students to develop so-called ''apps'' for mobile, tablet, and computer platforms.

SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL COMPETITION IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS.

(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMPETITION.—There is hereby established an academic competition in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics which shall be held each year among students in each Congressional district.

(b) REGULATIONS.—The competition under this resolution shall be carried out in accordance with such regulations as may be prescribed by the Committee on House Administration, except that the regulations shall permit the office of a Member to seek guidance from outside experts in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics for the purposes of establishing criteria for the selection of competition judges and for the judgment of competition submissions.

Appendix C. Regulations for the Academic Competition

Appendix D. Resources for the Conduct of the Challenge