NSF's Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering (CEOSE) has published the 2000 Biennial Report to the US Congress. Several years ago, NSF stated that every NSF proposal application for K-12 education must in some way directly address the needs of under-represented groups (women and minorities) in science and math education. This report may help PI/PDs preparing proposals to NSF as it contains data on a number of topics (pages 1-13 are relevant to K-12 education). These topics include: why we need to invest in a diverse workforce; student attitudes towards math and science; NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) and TIMSS (Third International Mathematics and Science Study) results; course enrollments; career aspirations; ways in which minority students lag behind white students; ways in which male and female career aspirations differ; student patterns in AP exams and college entrance exams; and issues in assessing persons with disabilities.
The report states that: a culturally diverse workforce creates a competitive advantage; our national advantage will suffer from a lack of diversity in the workforce; and we need strategies for establishing parity in the domestic science, mathematics, engineering and technology (SMET) workforce.
