The Science and Engineering Readiness Index, codeveloped by Susan White from the Statistical Research Center at the American Institute of Physics and Paul Cottle, a physicist at Florida State University, has revealed the best and worst states at preparing kids for careers in science and engineering.
The Index uses several data sources including high school physics class enrollment numbers, Advanced Placement test scores, teacher certification requirements, and others to determine which states are doing the best job of preparing high school students to enter college degree programs in science or technology. This year, the Index placed Massachusetts at the head of the class, with a grade of 4.82 out of a possible five. Mississippi raked at the bottom of all fifty states with a score of 1.11 out of five.
States with Above Average Science and Math Programs
In all, five states scored well above the national average. In addition to Massachusetts, they were New Hampshire, New York, Wisconsin and New Jersey. Also above average were Maine, Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia and Indiana.
States with Below Average Science and Math Programs
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Arizona, New Mexico, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Nevada all scored well below average. Coming in slightly better with scores rated below average were Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Iowa, North Dakota, Rhode Island, California and Idaho according to the report. All other states fell in the average range.
Ranking the U.S. Against the World
The poor performance in so many states is particularly distressing when viewed along with the United States' performance in science as measured against students in other countries. In 2009, the last year available, the United States ranked 23rd in science out of 65 participating countries, according to the Program for International Student Assessment coordinated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The United States' score was just one point over the international average on a 1000 point scale. Although we did manage to score higher than Mexico, Croatia and Greece, the list of countries that outscored U.S. fifteen-year-olds reads like a who's who of America's economic competitors.
Countries Scoring better than the U.S. in Science
China (Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Macao), The Republic of Korea, Singapore, Germany, Australia, and the United Kingdom all outscored the United States. While those countries might be expected to do well, there were also some others which did significantly better than the U.S. that it might surprise the average American. Fifteen-year-olds from Estonia, Slovenia, Poland and Hungary all bested their American counterparts in science.
If you're looking for technology and innovators of tomorrow, look at this list carefully, the 22 countries that scored better than the United States are the countries from which they'll be coming. Even kids from best in the nation Massachusetts, says FSU physics professor and SERI co-author Paul Cottle, would have a hard time keeping up with international leaders like China or Singapore.
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