There is an elephant in the room, and I don’t mean the GOP. I’m referring to an issue that looms large in America’s future but is presently being overlooked by both presidential candidates: the significant decline in the percentage of Americans earning degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math.
According to the Government Accountability Office, the proportion of students obtaining STEM degrees from American universities has dropped from 32 percent to 27 percent over the past decade. At the same time, the percentage of non-American students earning these degrees from American universities has increased dramatically.
(Bill Costello is training director of Making Minds Matter, Bowie, Md., and teaches parents and teachers the best strategies for educating boys.)