The term “STEM education” refers to teaching and learning in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It includes educational activities across all grade levels—from pre-school to post- doctorate—in both formal (e.g., classrooms) and informal (e.g., afterschool programs) settings. In 2012, we reviewed the delivery and effectiveness of federal STEM education programs. As in our 2012 report, for this report we define a federally-funded STEM education program as a program funded in a designated fiscal year by allocation or congressional appropriation that includes one or more of the following as a primary objective: attract or prepare students to pursue classes or coursework in STEM areas through formal or informal education activities, attract students to pursue degrees (2-year, 4-year, graduate, or doctoral) in STEM fields through formal or informal education activities, provide training opportunities for undergraduate or graduate students in STEM fields (this can include grants, fellowships, internships, and traineeships that are targeted to students; we do not consider general research grants to researchers that may hire a student to work in the lab to be a STEM education program), attract graduates to pursue careers in STEM fields, improve teacher education in STEM areas for teachers and those studying to be teachers, improve or expand the capacity of K-12 schools or postsecondary institutions to promote or foster education in STEM fields, or conduct research to enhance the quality of STEM education programs provided to students. There is no commonly used definition of fields that are considered STEM. For this report, we use a comprehensive definition of STEM that includes three STEM categories: Core STEM, Healthcare STEM, and Other STEM (see fig. 1). We present our findings for the three categories combined and for each of three STEM categories. See our description of the relevant data sets in appendix I for an explanation of how we classified fields of study and occupations into these STEM categories in our data analysis. The Committee on STEM Education is the interagency coordination body for STEM education in the federal government (see fig. 2). Federal STEM education programs have been created in two ways— directly by law or through agencies’ broad statutory authority to carry out their missions. In our 2012 STEM report, we reported that in fiscal year 2010, 13 federal agencies administered 209 programs to increase knowledge of STEM fields and attainment of STEM degrees. These agencies, listed below in Table 1, continued to administer federal STEM education programs in fiscal year 2014. In our 2012 report, we found that in fiscal year 2010, 83 percent of the programs we identified overlapped to some degree with at least 1 other program by offering similar services to similar target groups in similar STEM fields to achieve similar objectives. Although those programs may not be duplicative, we reported that they were similar enough that they needed to be well coordinated and guided by a robust strategic plan. We also found that federal agencies’ limited use of performance measures and evaluations may have hampered their ability to assess the effectiveness of individual programs as well as the overall federal STEM education effort. We recommended that as the Office of Science and Technology Policy leads the government’s STEM education strategic planning effort, it should work with agencies to better align their activities with a government-wide strategy, develop a plan for sustained coordination, identify programs for potential consolidation or elimination, and assist agencies in determining how to better evaluate their programs. The Office of Science and Technology Policy has taken steps to address some of our recommendations. Regarding our recommendation on potential elimination or consolidation of programs, the Committee on STEM Education released its interim strategic planning progress report in February 2012, which noted that STEM education programs had been identified to be potentially overlapping and encouraged agencies to streamline programs where appropriate. In addition, the President’s fiscal year 2014 budget called for a major restructuring of federal STEM education programs through the consolidation of programs and the realignment of STEM education activities. Since our prior report on STEM, the number of STEM education programs dropped from 209 in 2010 to158 in 2013. The President’s fiscal year 2015 budget request seeks to continue these efforts and states that agencies should focus on internal consolidations and eliminations while funding their most effective programs. Regarding our recommendation on evaluations, in May of 2013 the Committee on STEM Education released its 5-year Strategic Plan, which included guidance to agencies in developing evaluations for STEM education programs. The plan also laid out five broad priority areas: Enhance STEM experiences of undergraduate students; Improve STEM instruction; Increase and sustain youth and public engagement in STEM; Better serve groups historically under-represented in STEM fields; Design graduate education for tomorrow’s STEM workforce. In addition, in July 2013, a joint Office of Science and Technology Policy/ Office of Management and Budget memo included guidance to agencies on how to align their programs and budget submissions—beginning with the budget submission for 2015—with the goals of the STEM Education 5-Year Strategic Plan. The guidance includes language directing the agencies to prioritize programs that use evidence to guide program design and implementation and to define appropriate metrics and improve the measurement of outcomes. Furthermore, in the President’s 2015 budget submission, the administration stated that improving STEM education by implementing the 5-year Strategic Plan is a cross-agency priority goal. As a result of this designation, the Office of Management and Budget must review on a quarterly basis agencies’ progress in meeting this goal. Overall, postsecondary degrees awarded in STEM fields have increased at a greater rate than in non-STEM fields during the past decade. The number of STEM degrees awarded increased 55 percent, from 1.35 million degrees awarded in the 2002-2003 academic year to over 2 million in the 2011-2012 academic year. In comparison, degrees awarded in non-STEM fields increased 37 percent in the same time period (see fig. 3). STEM degrees now comprise a larger share of total postsecondary degrees awarded—42 percent in the 2011-2012 academic year, up from 39 percent in the 2002-2003 academic year. However, much of the increase in STEM degrees came from growth in awards of Healthcare degrees, which have doubled over the past decade (see fig. 4). Degrees awarded in Core STEM fields increased at a substantially lower rate (19 percent) than non-STEM fields (37 percent). Degrees awarded in Other STEM fields increased at a greater rate (43 percent) than non-STEM fields. The comparatively slower growth in Core STEM fields is due in large part to an 18 percent decline in the number of computer science and information technology (IT) degrees awarded in the past decade. Computer science and IT degrees decreased each year between the 2002-2003 and 2007-2008 academic years but then increased (see fig. 5). A research association that has examined trends in computer science bachelor’s degrees attributes the decline to the “dot-com crash.” Aside from degrees awarded in the computer science/IT field, degrees awarded in all of the other STEM fields have increased throughout the past decade. Among the Core STEM fields, degrees awarded in the physical sciences, life sciences, and mathematics have grown at a greater rate than non-STEM fields (see fig. 6). Degrees awarded in engineering have also increased, though at a slightly lower rate than non- STEM fields (37 percent compared to 39 percent). Overall, employment trends have generally been more favorable in STEM occupations than in non-STEM occupations. The number of jobs in STEM occupations increased 16 percent from 14.2 million jobs in 2004 to 16.5 million in 2012, while jobs in non-STEM occupations remained fairly steady (with a decline of 0.1 percent). STEM occupations also had more wage growth on average and lower unemployment rates than non-STEM occupations (see table 2). However, employment conditions vary across STEM fields, with healthcare occupations generally having the most favorable conditions. (See also appendix III for more detailed information on recent trends in STEM and non-STEM occupations). After controlling for education levels, demographic characteristics, and type of job, we estimate that the unemployment rate among workers in STEM occupations overall was 1.2 percentage points lower than for similar workers in non-STEM occupations in 2012, and the average wage in STEM occupations was 17 percent higher (see table 3). Healthcare occupations had the largest differences, while workers in Other STEM occupations had unemployment rates and average wages that were similar to those in non-STEM occupations. While employment conditions have generally been more favorable in STEM occupations than in non-STEM occupations, conditions vary across specific STEM fields. Most STEM fields experienced both increases in employment levels and in average wages from 2004 to 2012, as well as relatively low unemployment rates when compared to non- STEM occupations. However, three fields— STEM sales occupations, engineering technician and drafting occupations, and science technician occupations—experienced either a decline in the number of jobs in this time period or a decline in the average wage (see fig. 7). Engineering technician and drafting occupations and science technician occupations are also among the STEM fields with the highest unemployment rates in recent years, though their unemployment rates have fallen since 2010 and were lower than non-STEM occupations in 2012 (see fig. 8). It is difficult to know whether the United States is producing enough STEM workers to meet employer needs for several reasons. First, estimating how many STEM workers employers need is a challenge, in part because demand for STEM workers can fluctuate with economic conditions. For example, the number of jobs in core STEM occupations declined by about 250,000 between 2008 and 2010 (from 7.74 million jobs in 2008 to 7.49 million in 2010), though it then increased (to 7.89 million jobs in 2012). Subject matter specialists and federal officials we interviewed also noted that employer needs in STEM fields are difficult to predict because they may change with technological or market developments. Furthermore, the supply of STEM workers in the United States may not match the demand at any given point in time because of the time it takes to educate a STEM worker. Research suggests that students’ decisions about which fields to study may be influenced by the economic conditions and future career prospects they perceive in those fields. Favorable economic conditions in a STEM field may encourage students to pursue degrees in that field.