The National Science Foundation released a data tool this week that puts a host of wonky STEM education statistics into a friendly, visual format.
The new website uses data mainly from the 2014 National Science Board’s Science and Engineering Indicators report, and some from the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Users can get questions answered about science, technology, engineering, and math education spanning pre-kindergarten through the workforce. For example:
- What are the basic skills that 2-year olds have developed?
- How well do U.S. 8th graders score in math and science in each state?
- What level of education do U.S. S&E [science and engineering] workers have?
Clicking on the question opens up an interactive graph or map of the data, a short narrative answer, and some key research findings. Here’s the visual for the question above about science and engineering workers’ levels of education (not interactive here, though it is on the site).
Carissa Poroko, a spokesperson for the National Science Board, part of the National Science Foundation, said the tool is aimed at a variety of audiences, including parents, students, teachers, policymakers, and journalists. “A parent and student can sit down and look at [college] majors—it can be kind of a planning tool for them in the early stages, even as young as high school.”
The NSF will continue updating the information and expanding the site, she said.
The federally agency has also created a state data tool that looks at economic and academic indicators, which my colleague Sean Cavanagh wrote about here.