STEM

As the United States strives to improve the academic achievement of its students and remain a global leader in scientific discoveries and innovations, its education policies and programs in STEM continue to draw national attention. In 2016, 13 federal agencies invested $3 billion in more than 160 STEM programs to promote student learning, build capacity for research and education, and foster completion of advanced degrees necessary to build our scientific workforce (General Accounting Office 18-290, 2018). Mathematica Policy Research is at the forefront of efforts to ensure that these investments in STEM education are evidence based, effective, and efficient.

Mathematica has established itself as a national leader in policy-focused education research and evaluation by successfully conducting many seminal evaluation and data collection projects. Through the leadership and collaboration of its social scientists, statisticians, and survey research professionals, Mathematica conducts a range of studies in STEM, targeting educational programs and institutions in grades K–12, higher education, and informal education. These studies often focus on efforts to build and diversify the scientific workforce with populations underrepresented in STEM fields—including women, minorities, economically disadvantaged students, and people with disabilities.