Fast Facts: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, by gender (1089)

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, by gender

Question:
What information do you have on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in the U.S. by gender?

Response:

Among public and private high school graduates in 2019, about 97 percent of females and 96 percent of males had taken selected science, technology, mathematics, and engineering (STEM) courses in high school.

91 percent of females and 88 percent of males took any advanced mathematics course.
90 percent of females and 88 percent of males took any advanced science and engineering courses.

6 percent of females and 18 percent of males took an engineering course.

37 percent of females and 41 percent of males took any technology course.

Percentage of public and private high school graduates who took selected science, technology, mathematics, and engineering (STEM) courses in high school, by selected student characteristics: 2019
Selected student or school characteristic	Any STEM course	Advanced mathematics course
Selected student or school characteristic	Any STEM course	Any advanced mathematics course	Algebra II	Precalculus/ analysis	Calculus	Other advanced mathematics
Total	96.6	89.4	85.0	38.7	15.8	26.0
Sex
Male	95.9	87.6	83.2	36.9	15.9	25.1
Female	97.2	91.2	86.9	40.5	15.7	26.9
Race/ethnicity
White	96.9	90.9	87.1	41.8	18.3	27.5
Black	95.9	87.2	81.9	27.5	6.2	24.3
Hispanic	95.8	86.2	82.0	33.3	9.5	21.3
Asian	99.1	96.8	88.4	63.4	45.6	37.4
Pacific Islander	92.8	86.7	83.0	40.8	8.9	18.3
American Indian/Alaska Native	92.8	79.6	76.4	24.5	7.3	23.1
Two or more races	96.5	90.8	86.2	41.3	18.7	29.2

Percentage of public and private high school graduates who took selected science, technology, mathematics, and engineering (STEM) courses in high school, by selected student characteristics: 2019
Selected student or school characteristic	Any STEM course	Advanced science and engineering course
Selected student or school characteristic	Any STEM course	Any advanced science and engineering course	Advanced biology	Chemistry	Advanced environmental/ earth science	Physics	Engineering
Total	96.6	88.3	35.0	75.0	15.9	38.2	11.8
Sex
Male	95.9	86.7	27.1	71.9	16.1	40.9	17.7
Female	97.2	89.9	43.2	78.1	15.6	35.4	5.7
Race/ethnicity
White	96.9	89.1	37.1	75.5	16.3	37.7	13.2
Black	95.9	84.5	30.0	70.3	12.9	30.0	9.4
Hispanic	95.8	87.4	31.5	74.4	16.0	39.3	10.3
Asian	99.1	95.7	45.4	87.4	17.9	58.9	13.7
Pacific Islander	92.8	82.2	27.1	72.0	13.7	32.4	8.8
American Indian/Alaska Native	92.8	78.1	31.0	57.3	11.2	21.3	7.0
Two or more races	96.5	87.3	36.2	75.7	19.5	39.2	10.7

Percentage of public and private high school graduates who took selected science, technology, mathematics, and engineering (STEM) courses in high school, by selected student characteristics: 2019
Selected student or school characteristic	Any STEM course	Technology course
Selected student or school characteristic	Any STEM course	Any technology course	Engineering/ science technologies	Health science and technology	Computer science
Total	96.6	38.8	6.9	16.7	19.8
Sex
Male	95.9	40.7	9.9	10.9	25.5
Female	97.2	36.8	3.9	22.7	13.9
Race/ethnicity
White	96.9	39.1	8.6	14.9	20.6
Black	95.9	36.5	4.9	18.5	17.0
Hispanic	95.8	36.7	4.9	18.9	16.7
Asian	99.1	51.1	6.6	17.9	33.9
Pacific Islander	92.8	40.8	9.0	16.7	19.0
American Indian/Alaska Native	92.8	34.3	6.0	14.7	17.3
Two or more races	96.5	41.6	6.5	18.9	20.9

NOTE: Percentages are for students who earned any Carnegie credits. For a high school graduate to be included in the analyses, their transcript had to meet five requirements: (1) the graduate received either a standard or honors diploma, (2) the transcript had three or more years of delineated courses, (3) at least one course on the transcript was taken during the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and High School Transcript Study (HSTS) assessment year, (4) the transcript contained 16 or more Carnegie credits, and (5) the transcript contained at least 1 Carnegie credit in English courses. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.

SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics. (2022). Table 225.46. Percentage of public and private high school graduates who took selected science, technology, mathematics, and engineering (STEM) courses in high school, by selected student and school characteristics: 2019 [Data table]. In Digest of education statistics. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved March 9, 2023, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d21/tables/dt21_225.46.asp.

Secondary education: STEM Education and Career Expectations

Overall, male and female students who participated in the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress expressed preferences for different subjects. Across all grade levels, more male than female students reported that mathematics and science were their favorite subjects or expressed more positive views of these subjects. On the other hand, more female than male students reported that reading was their favorite activity or expressed more positive views of reading.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2015). Survey Questionnaires Results: Students' Views of Mathematics, Reading, and Science. (NCES 2015-075).

In 2015, some 40 percent of all U.S. 15-year-old students expected to have either a health or STEM career at age 30. Specifically, 23 percent expected to have a health career and 16 percent expected to have a STEM career. While a greater percentage of female students expected to have a health career than did male students (37 percent vs. 9 percent), a greater percentage of male students expected to have a STEM career than did female students (26 percent vs. 7 percent).

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2020). Health and STEM Career Expectations and Science Literacy Achievement of U.S. 15-Year-Old Students (NCES 2020-034).

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