Another hot button among STEM education advocates is the number of K-12 teachers who are either uncertified or unqualified in their field. In 2004, only 40 percent of fifth-grade students were taught mathematics and science by teachers with either a degree or certificate in their teaching field, according to NSF figures.

“If we create really elite experiences for the best prepared students, that will not get us back on track. All children should be considered as part of the STEM pipeline. You can’t [just] pay attention to one end or another.”

– David Andrews, Dean, Johns Hopkins School of Education

The current emphasis on testing can interrupt students’ path to STEM distinction, Kadri says. Although an ardent champion of equal education opportunities, he still grapples with the impact of state and federally required assessments on the system’s most gifted students. “The emphasis with these tests is to bring the students at the bottom to an adequate level, instead of pushing everybody to the maximum level,” he says. “As it relates to our top students, are we also giving them opportunities, such as online learning and so forth, to advance?”

David Andrews, new dean of Hopkins’ School of Education, believes a top-notch STEM education should be available for students at every intellectual tier. As a professor at Ohio State University, Andrews helped to open a STEM-based public high school designed as a laboratory for innovative teaching practices. Operating in partnership with a local high-tech firm and other educators, Metro High School, in Columbus, Ohio, stresses a multidisciplinary approach to STEM and requires seniors to work off-campus with engineers and scientists, often for college credit.

Working together, Metro’s faculty upends traditional approaches to STEM pedagogy, for example, offering physics rather than the usual chemistry course to first-year students. “If you teach physics to freshmen, the concepts are easier to grasp and can prepare students for the rigors of chemistry and working in a wet lab,” Andrews says.

Metro High School’s model has been replicated in five districts across Ohio, creating a statewide platform for rejuvenating STEM education. This year, Metro’s first class of 400 students graduated, and nearly all will attend college or a technical training program, Andrews says.

Seismic shifts in technology and demography demand an egalitarian approach, Andrews says. By ninth grade, though, subpar achievement in math has already knocked too many students out of the running for the workforce of the future.

“I don’t think everybody fully understands the pipeline issue,” Andrews says. “If we create really elite experiences for the best prepared students, that will not get us back on track. All children should be considered as part of the STEM pipeline,” Andrews says. “You can’t [just] pay attention to one end or another.”

As students made their way through Metro, the top kids did well and the struggling kids continued to struggle. But with a lot of support, they got through, too, Andrews says. “We really have to figure out as a country how to continue to move everyone toward a post-secondary experience that matches their needs.”

From her vantage point in industry as president of Alcoa Oil & Gas, Mary Zappone ’86 is particularly interested in supporting and mentoring young women to pursue careers in math and science. Though women currently constitute some 46 percent of the U.S. workforce, they hold just 26 percent of U.S. jobs in science, technology, and engineering. Fewer than 10 percent of American engineers are women. “Helping young women become excited about math and science and the numerous ways they can use that education is important to ensure the next generation of leaders includes diverse viewpoints,” she says.

“I think it’s important for [girls] to understand that upper-level math and science courses keep many doors open to them in career options,” says Zappone, who earned her BS in chemical engineering at the Whiting School and an MBA from Columbia University. “Conversely, choices to not take algebra and then other ‘tougher’ math courses can lead to shutting down upper-level courses—and therefore certain careers.” Because decisions about courses are made “by 13- and 14-year-old kids, who do not understand the potential implications,” she says, “I think a push to drive ‘keeping your options open’ for teenagers, particularly girls, makes a difference.”

Despite the demands of her career, Zappone stays active in her role as mentor. In 2010, she was one of the leading female executives from Fortune 500 companies who took part in the National Math + Science Young Leaders Program, aimed at encouraging college women to continue their studies in STEM subjects and pursue careers in STEM fields. At Hopkins, she serves on the career mentoring committeeof the Society of Engineering Alumni.

Zappone believes strongly that solving the STEM crisis will take a village. “Everyone must participate,” she says. “We need to best align government, parents, educators, and even corporations to ensure that appropriate talent is available for the jobs of the future.”