1950 - The National Science Foundation is created...it's about time!
1957 - On October 4, The Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik. This not only began the Space Age and triggered the Space Race, it generated more developments in science and technology than ever before!
1958 - Hello, NASA! In July, Congress passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, creating NASA and sparking American interest in STEM.
1958 - The National Defense Act passed, generating $1 billion for 40,000 loans, 40,000 scholarships and 1,500 graduate fellowships for students in STEM fields. 1958 was a brilliant year in STEM history!
1974 - The American society was changed forever with the invention of the personal computer!
1983 - This was a turning point. The National Commission on Excellence in Education published "A Nation at Risk." The report warned that the nation was at risk because of its mediocre education system. The report stressed that there was a particularly severe shortage in math and science teachers.
1992-1997 - The percentage of top-performing U.S. high school students who majored in STEM in college peaked near 30 percent...what happened?
2011 - President Barack Obama calls for the training of 100,000 new teachers in STEM over the next 10 years in his State of the Union Address, effectively moving STEM education to the forefront of America's education priorities.
To see the full STEM timeline, click here.
Today, 100Kin10, the largest STEM initiative, advocates for recruiting and training teachers who specialize in STEM fields. Measuring the progress of STEM education is hard to quantify and can't always be measured through standardized test scores and GPAs alone. Last year, STEM jobs made up almost a quarter of the professional labor force! With projections that STEM jobs will add 2.1 million jobs to the workforce between 2012 and 2020, it's safe to say that STEM is here to stay!
