ÌÇÐ͝Âþvlog

Federal Report Roundup

STEM Education

By Stephen Sawchuk — April 10, 2018 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

Federal STEM education programs need better coordination, finds a new report by the Government Accountability Office—the federal government’s watchdog arm.

In 2010 Congress created the Committee on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics to review some 163 STEM education programs in 13 federal agencies, totaling nearly $3 billion. The GAO found the committee did not review or document performance evaluations of the STEM programs, nor did it report the programs’ participation rates for underrepresented groups. Nearly every program overlapped with another program—for example, serving the same field, objective, or groups, though many served different subpopulations or had different areas of emphasis.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the April 11, 2018 edition of Education Week as STEM Education

Events

College & Workforce Readiness Webinar How High Schools Can Prepare Students for College and Career
Explore how schools are reimagining high school with hands-on learning that prepares students for both college and career success.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar
GoGuardian and Google: Proactive AI Safety in Schools
Learn how to safely adopt innovative AI tools while maintaining support for student well-being. 
Content provided by 
Reading & Literacy K-12 Essentials Forum Supporting Struggling Readers in Middle and High School
Join this free virtual event to learn more about policy, data, research, and experiences around supporting older students who struggle to read.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Federal Ed. Dept. Tells More Than 250 Civil Rights Staff They've Been Laid Off
The layoffs come just days after the agency began a new round of staff reductions during the shutdown.
4 min read
The exterior of the U.S. Department of Education building is pictured on Oct. 11, 2025, in Washington.
The exterior of the U.S. Department of Education building is pictured on Oct. 11, 2025, in Washington. The agency on Tuesday told more than 250 office for civil rights employees they've been laid off, just days after starting another round of layoffs during the federal government shutdown.
Aaron M. Sprecher via AP
Federal Ed. Dept. Offices Will Be Virtually Wiped Out in Latest Layoffs
The U.S. Department of Education is losing about a fifth of its already diminished workforce.
9 min read
Itinerant teacher April Wilson works with Zion Stewart at Bond County Early Childhood Center in Greenville, Ill., on Sept. 29, 2025.
Teacher April Wilson, who works with visually impaired students, works with a student at Bond County Early Childhood Center in Greenville, Ill., on Sept. 29, 2025. The latest round of layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education will leave the federal office of special education programs with few staffers.
Michael B. Thomas for Education Week
Federal A New Wave of Federal Layoffs Will Hit the Education Department
Multiple divisions will lose staff members, according to the union representing agency staffers.
3 min read
Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought speaks to reporters after Democratic and Republican Congressional leaders met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Sept. 29, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought speaks to reporters after Democratic and Republican congressional leaders met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Sept. 29, 2025. Vought announced Friday that federal layoffs during the shutdown have begun, and those layoffs will hit the U.S. Department of Education.
Allison Bailey/NurPhoto via AP
Federal Senate Confirms Longtime North Dakota Schools Chief for Top Ed. Dept. Role
Senators approved a batch of Trump nominees that also included others to top Education Department posts.
3 min read
North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler announces the gathering of a task force to look into future options the state has for the assessment of students during a press conference May 8, 2015, at the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D.
North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler speaks at a press conference on May 8, 2015, at the state capitol in Bismarck, N.D. Baesler will serve as assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education after her Tuesday confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
Mike McCleary/The Bismarck Tribune via AP