1. The Economic Case for College and Career Readiness: Implications of National Trends American Diploma Project ▪ September 2011 Dr. Brian K. Fitzgerald, CEO

2. 2 Nationally, employers expect employees to use a broad set of skills. SOURCE: Hart Research Associates. (2010). Raising the Bar: Employers’ Views on College Learning in the Wake of the Economic Downturn. Learning Outcomes Desired by Employers ©BHEF

3. 3 Current workforce demands indicate acute labor surpluses and shortages. National Workforce Surpluses and Shortages SOURCE: Light, J. (2011). Labor Shortage Persists in Some Fields. Wall Street Journal ©BHEF

4. 4 And future workforce projections indicate on-going shortages, especially in high growth career fields. SOURCE: Derived from ACT’s The Condition of College and Career Readiness, 2010 ©BHEF

5. 5 These shortages, especially in STEM, are the result of systemic leaks in the production and career pipeline. ©BHEF

6. 6 American students’ math proficiency and STEM career interest decline throughout high school. By 12 th grade, only 17% of students are math proficient and interested in a STEM career. SOURCE: The Business-Higher Education Forum. (2011). The STEM interest and proficiency challenge: Creating the workforce of the future. ©BHEF

7. The threat to our nation’s competitiveness is even more apparent when we analyze 12 th graders math proficiency and interest in STEM by race/ethnicity. 7 SOURCE: The Business-Higher Education Forum. (2011). The STEM interest and proficiency challenge: Creating the workforce of the future.

8. 8 Once those students enroll in college, undergraduate STEM attrition by major is also substantial. *includes Chemistry, Physics, Earth and Planetary Sciences SOURCE: Koff, R., Molter, L., & Renninger, K.A. (2009). Why Students Leave STEM Fields: Development of a Common Data Template and Survey Tool. A report to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. ©BHEF

9. 9 And only about half of STEM college graduates choose to work in STEM careers upon graduation. SOURCE: Carnevale, T. (2011). The STEM Workforce. Presentation to the PCAST Working Group on STEM Higher Education, April 15, 2011. ©BHEF

10. 10 BHEF addresses this challenge by: Developing, documenting and disseminating replicable models of education improvement and workforce alignment, especially in STEM Collaborating with members to lead education and workforce projects in their communities Further developing BHEF’s unique tools and resources to support education stakeholders leading high-impact change around education and workforce misalignment ©BHEF