Let’s Discuss: Enlisting Young People in STEM/Data Fields

It’s no secret that math and science scores among young people are dropping at an alarming rate. In 2023, U.S. News & World Report reported that math scores among U.S. teenagers were the lowest they had been since the 1970s and that math test results from 2021 found that among 13-year-olds, average math scores declined 9 points compared to the previous assessment – the single largest decline observed in the last half century [1].

It’s hard not to be dismayed by such startling results, but nonetheless, it presents a significant opportunity for the INFORMS community to join together to find ways to communicate with and engage these students. Is it part of the INFORMS mission to help educate them on the importance – and real-world applications – of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and data, to their own future and the future of the world? I believe it is essential that we show students how much these fields are involved in the success and health of our society. And it goes hand-in-hand with INFORMS’ work in Washington, D.C., advocating for the importance of data literacy in a world in which data impacts virtually every job and every aspect of life. By pursuing this, we can help students see how they can play key roles in solving the problems of today’s world and engineering the opportunities for tomorrow’s. I crafted an open letter to students to rev up their excitement and understanding of STEM fields. Will they read it? Would it be better if teachers or mentors, who already see the importance here, read it to them? What do you think? Let’s have a discussion.

Note. The first draft of this letter was crafted with the help of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence language model developed by OpenAI. It’s a testament to the incredible possibilities that arise when we use math to make better decisions and shape the world around us.

Reference

1. Lauren Camera, 2023, “U.S. Teens’ Reading and Math Scores Feature Largest Declines Ever,” S. News & World Report, June 21, https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2023-06-21/u-s-teens-reading-and-math-scores-feature-largest-declines-ever.