WestEd News
STEMworks Joins WestEd to Support Strategic STEM Investments
“There is no shortage of STEM programs that make grand claims about their impact. STEMworks identifies programs that have the evidence to back up their claims.”
— Paula Collins, Vice President of Government Relations, Texas Instruments
WestEd is proud to be the new home for STEMworks, a searchable online honor roll of high-quality science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education programs. STEMworks helps companies, states, and individuals make smart investments in their communities by evaluating and cataloging programs that have demonstrated the ability to broaden the base of students who are inspired by and do well in STEM. WestEd has helped evaluate these programs since STEMworks began in 2012. Since then, companies have expanded rigorously-vetted STEMworks programs to more than four million young people nationwide.
Funding a STEM program at the school or district level presents significant costs. To ensure that investors’ money yields the greatest return possible, all programs included in the STEMworks database align with rigorous design principles that embody the best practices for what actually works in STEM education. These programs must demonstrate success in areas such as capacity to address critical need, sustainability, scalability, and rigorous evaluation. In addition, programs must offer challenging content, incorporate hands-on practices, inspire interest in STEM, and address the needs of girls and students of color, who are traditionally less likely to pursue STEM fields.
STEMworks’ intuitive interface not only presents users with thoroughly-vetted STEM education programs, but supplements results with detailed descriptions, goals, geographic reach, strengths, and impact for each program. Potential investors can refine results by type of program, target audience, impact, location, and grade level to identify the programs that best meet their philanthropic priorities and the needs of their community.
Like STEMworks, WestEd aims to tackle real-world challenges to make a positive difference in the lives of children. WestEd looks forward to supporting the STEMworks program and advancing our shared commitment to promoting excellence, achieving equity, and improving learning for all students.
Visit our website to learn more about STEMworks and its services at STEMworks.WestEd.org.
Posted on December 6, 2017