2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Unsurprisingly, the United States government actively recognizes the need to support initiatives in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in order to remain a global leader in discovery and innovation. For this reason, the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Committee on STEM Education (CoSTEM) released a five-year strategic plan in 2018 describing nation-wide goals surrounding STEM education and the strategic pathways through which these goals could be achieved. It is this strategic plan that recognizes that even though increased financial support is helpful, collaboration, purposeful program development, and investment transparency are also key to achieving the goals set forth in the plan. Through an analysis of the Federal STEM ecosystem, the work reported by interagency working groups within CoSTEM, and the Federal STEM Investments Inventory data, which has been made publicly available via annual progress reports, we provide insight into how Federal STEM education efforts have made progress towards its three goals of improved STEM literacy, increased diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and STEM workforce development. Additionally, we consider what this analysis means in the context of the greater STEM community. With the STEM Education Strategic Plan’s tenure coming to an end, this paper concludes by encouraging discussion regarding the future of Federal STEM education initiatives informed by the last five years’ progress and potential shortcomings.