STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics. Recent studies have shown that America’s students
are falling behind in STEM disciplines and are also far less
interested in STEM than their international peers. This can be
evidenced by a report entitled “Prepare and Inspire: K-12
Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)
for America’s Future” that was issued in September, 2010 by the
President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. This
reports cites the following facts: * On the National Assessment
of Educational Progress, less than one-third of U.S. eighth
graders show proficiency in mathematics and science. * Only
about a third of bachelor’s degrees earned in the United States
are in a STEM field, compared with approximately 53 percent of
first university degrees earned in China, and 63 percent of
those earned in Japan. * More than half of the science and
engineering graduate students in U.S. universities are from
outside the United States. The good news is