Path to STEM Employment

Variations in Scores by Student, Teacher, and School Factors

NAEP mathematics results in 2024 show differences in average student performance associated with student, school, and teacher factors. Male students scored higher than female students at both grade levels, as did high socioeconomic status (SES) students compared with low SES students (Figure TAL-17).^{​SES is indicated by a student’s SES index score, which ranges from 0 to 9. Scores are categorized as Low SES (0–2), Middle SES (3–6), and High SES (7–9). Before 2024, a student’s eligibility for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) was used in NAEP assessments as a proxy variable to measure SES. In 2024, NAEP introduced a more comprehensive measure of SES comprising four components: (1) the student’s NSLP eligibility status, (2) the percentage of students eligible for NSLP at the school the student is attending, (3) the number of books at the student’s home, and (4) the highest level of education of either parent.}

Asian and White students posted the highest scores at both grade levels (Table TAL-10). Students with more-experienced teachers scored higher than students with less-experienced teachers, as did students taught by teachers with traditional certifications rather than teachers with alternative certifications (Figure TAL-18). Students who attended schools with extracurricular mathematics enrichment activities, including mathematics club competitions, scored higher than students who attended schools without these activities (Table STAL-17).

Variations in Scores by Geography

Average student scores in 2024 varied by geographic factors, including school location, census division, and state. Fourth- and eighth-grade students in suburban and rural areas scored higher in 2024 than students in towns and urban areas. Students in both grades who attended suburban schools posted the highest scores (Table STAL-18). In 2024, fourth-grade students in the West scored lower than students in all three other U.S. Census Bureau regions. At the state level, eighth-grade students in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Utah were among the highest-scoring students, whereas students in Alabama, the District of Columbia, West Virginia, and New Mexico were among the lowest (Figure TAL-19). State-level data and other geographic analyses on mathematics and science achievement can be found in Science and Engineering Indicators: State Indicators.

STEM Degrees by Sex

The proportion of S&E degrees that men and women earned in 2023 differed by field and by award level (Figure TAL-28, Figure TAL-29). Across all award levels, men earned larger proportions of degrees than women in engineering, computer and information sciences, mathematics and statistics, and physical sciences. At the associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s levels, women earned larger proportions of degrees than men in psychology, biological and biomedical sciences, agricultural sciences and natural resources, social sciences, and multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary sciences. In geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences, men earned more than half of the associate’s and doctoral degrees, and women earned more than half of the bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Men earned the highest shares of degrees in engineering, accounting for at least 72% of the degrees at any level, and in computer and information sciences, accounting for at least 66% of the degrees at any level. Women earned the highest shares of degrees in psychology, with at least 77% of the degrees at any level. In the physical sciences, the proportion of awards that women earned was lower at the master’s and doctoral levels than at the undergraduate levels. The proportion of women in mathematics and statistics was highest at the bachelor’s and master’s levels (about 40% of women in each) and lowest at the associate’s and doctoral levels (29% and 28%, respectively).

In 2023, the proportion of S&E-related degrees earned by men and women also differed by field and degree level (Figure TAL-28). Across all award levels, men earned larger proportions of degrees than women in homeland security and fire protection, technology and technical fields, and other S&E-related fields. Women earned larger proportions of degrees than men in the health professions and related programs and in science and mathematics education.

STEM Degrees by Race and Ethnicity

In 2023, relative to their shares of the U.S. population ages 20–34 years, racial and ethnic groups differed in the proportion of S&E degrees awarded at different degree levels (Figure TAL-30). White students earned a lower proportion of S&E associate’s degrees (41%) than their share of the 20- to 34-year-old U.S. population (53%). However, White students earned a share of the S&E bachelor’s degrees awarded (55%) similar to their proportion of the 20- to 34-year-old U.S. population. Asian students earned larger proportions of S&E degrees at all levels than their share of the U.S. population ages 20–34 years. In contrast, the proportion of S&E degree recipients among American Indian or Alaska Native, Black, and Hispanic students was lower than their respective shares of the U.S. population ages 20–34 years at most degree levels. One notable exception was that Hispanic students earned 34% of the S&E associate’s degrees awarded but comprised 23% of the U.S. population ages 20–34 years. Another exception was that American Indian or Alaska Native students earned the same proportion of associate’s degrees as their proportion in this population. Students who reported more than one race earned a higher proportion of S&E-related degrees at all degree levels relative to their shares of the 20- to 34-year-old U.S. population (Figure TAL-30). Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander students earned a higher proportion at the associate’s level but a lower proportion at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels relative to their shares of the 20- to 34-year-old U.S. population.^{​The comparisons are based on unrounded percentages. In 2023, the proportion of S&E bachelor’s degrees earned by Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders was 0.183781331830459 when unrounded, and their proportion in the 20- to 34-year-old U.S. population was 0.214033967008794.}

STEM Degrees by Citizenship Status

International students in the United States earn low shares of S&E postsecondary degrees at the associate’s and bachelor’s levels but much higher shares of S&E advanced degrees (Figure TAL-31). In 2023, temporary visa holders earned 2% of S&E associate’s degrees, 6% of S&E bachelor’s degrees, 38% of S&E master’s degrees, and 39% of S&E doctoral degrees.^{​In 2023, 51% of U.S. S&E doctorate recipients on temporary visas were from China or India (for more details, see NCSES [2025a]).} The share of S&E master’s degrees awarded to temporary visa holders fluctuated between 2013 and 2023; it peaked at 40% in 2017, declined to 28% in 2022, and increased to 38% in 2023. International students earn a low proportion of the associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees awarded in S&E-related fields (1%, 2%, and 6%, respectively) (Table STAL-20).

The proportion of temporary visa holders among master’s degree and doctoral degree recipients varied greatly by field (Table STAL-20). In 2023, temporary visa holders earned 10% of the doctoral degrees in psychology and 24% of those in the health sciences but received more than half of the doctoral degrees in computer and information sciences (62%), engineering (55%), and mathematics and statistics (53%), fields that are particularly important in critical and emerging technologies. Temporary visa holders also accounted for about half of the master’s degrees awarded in each of these three fields. Surveys of S&E research doctorate recipients who were temporary visa holders have shown that most of these individuals intend to and ultimately do remain in the United States after graduation (see the section STEM Doctoral Degrees, Stay Rates, and Internationally Mobile Students).

Community Colleges

A variety of institutions provide the education necessary to maintain and enhance the U.S. S&E enterprise. Community colleges are public colleges that offer associate’s degree programs that require 2 years or less to complete.^{​Community colleges are defined here as publicly controlled institutions that confer awards up to at least the 2-year level but less than the 4-year level. Community colleges primarily award associate's degrees and certificates below the bachelor's degree level.} They specialize in providing relatively affordable programs of study, including in S&E and S&E-related fields. In 2023, about a third of the associate’s degree holders were in STEM occupations (Table STAL-1). Community colleges awarded 75% of the S&E associate’s degrees and 52% of the S&E-related associate’s degrees conferred in 2023 (Figure TAL-32). Among S&E fields, community colleges awarded the largest number of associate’s degrees in social sciences (23%), followed by multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary sciences (20%), then computer and information sciences (20%) (Figure TAL-33); among S&E-related fields, they awarded the largest number of associate’s degrees in health professions and related programs (Figure TAL-34).

In addition to offering certificates and associate’s degrees, community colleges can be the first stop on the road to a bachelor’s or an advanced degree (Foley, Milan, and Hamrick 2020). According to the 2023 NSCG, about 3.1 million of the 5.6 million college graduates who had earned their first bachelor’s degree between 2019 and 2021 (55%) reported attending a community college; this was true for 63% of those who earned degrees in S&E-related fields and 51% of those who earned degrees in S&E fields (Table TAL-12).^{​All comparative statements derived from sample surveys in this report have undergone statistical testing; unless otherwise noted, all comparisons are statistically significant at the 0.10 significance level.} Among the 1.1 million S&E bachelor’s degree recipients who attended community college, about 518,000 (45%) indicated that they took courses after high school and before enrolling in college, 429,000 (37%) while in college and before receiving their first bachelor’s degree, and 81,000 (7%) after leaving college without receiving their first bachelor’s degree. Among the bachelor’s degree recipients with S&E degrees who indicated they had attended community college, 882,000 (77%) reported attending during one of these three periods after high school and before earning their first bachelor’s degree.^{​Respondents could have attended community college at more than one point in time.} Among the 555,000 bachelor’s degree recipients with S&E-related degrees who reported attending community college, about 60% said they attended after high school and before enrolling in college, 44% while in college and before receiving a bachelor’s degree, 11% after leaving college without receiving their first bachelor’s degree, and 86% any time after high school and before earning their first bachelor’s degree.

Education at the associate’s level, predominantly offered by community colleges, also plays a role in the preparation of S&E doctorate recipients. In 2023, 20% of S&E doctorate recipients reported that they had earned college credit at a community college.^{​For additional data on doctorate recipients who earned college credit at a community or 2-year college, see (NCSES SED 2023: Table 5-1).} This proportion was highest among those in the health sciences (36%) and psychology (31%) and lowest among those in computer sciences (9%), mathematics and statistics (13%), and engineering (14%) (Figure TAL-35).

Tribally Controlled and Historically Black Colleges and Universities

All U.S. institutions of higher education foster talent development. In 2023, there were 35 tribally controlled colleges and universities (TCCUs) and 100 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), as defined by the Higher Education Act of 1965 (P.L. 89-329) based on the populations of students they have served since their founding. These legislatively defined institutions are part of the overall system of degree-granting U.S. institutions of higher education discussed above.^{​Examples of other types of institutions whose designation varies from year to year depending on enrollment include Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian–serving institutions, Asian American and Native American or Other Pacific Islander–serving institutions, Hispanic-serving institutions, Native American–serving nontribal institutions, and predominantly Black institutions (see the Indicators 2024 report “Higher Education in Science and Engineering” [NSB 2023]; especially see the section Institutions in S&E Higher Education for more details).} HBCUs and TCCUs award a small number of the overall degrees awarded by all institutions in the United States but play an important role, especially at the associate’s and bachelor’s degree levels, in producing STEM graduates (Table TAL-13). In 2023, 67% of the S&E degrees (267 out of 398) and 80% of the S&E-related degrees (178 out of 222) that TCCUs awarded were associate’s degrees. In 2023, 86% of the S&E degrees (12,836 out of 14,868) and 55% of the S&E-related degrees (4,158 out of 7,519) awarded by HBCUs were bachelor’s degrees. Although HBCUs awarded fewer than 500 doctoral degrees in 2023, more than two-thirds of these doctoral degrees were in S&E fields.