Rather convincing empirical evidence suggests that most children who are ‘turned off’ by mathematics and science have already arrived at that conclusion by the time they are in 4th grade. The die is usually cast by a teacher who finds teaching science and mathematics an unwelcome and intimidating burden or by a parent with a disinterest or disdain for these fields.

Ninety-three percent of US public school students in fifth through eighth grade are taught the physical sciences by a teacher without a degree or certificate in the physical sciences.

American students’ disinterest in math and science continues at the graduate level too, where less than 10% of degrees are conferred in engineering, math, and computer science. This places our country 20th internationally in terms of the share of graduate degrees in these critical areas.

…more than 40% of US doctoral students in engineering, mathematics and computer science are foreign nationals. In several fields, it is more than half.

50% of all engineering degrees awarded by U.S. engineering colleges go to foreign nationals.

90% of the world’s scientists and engineers live in Asia.

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which measures the science, mathematics, and reading literacy of students from more than 70 economies reported that the average science scores for American 15-year-olds is up slightly, with U.S. students ranking 17th in science and now in the “average” performers categories among OECD nations. The OECD countries with higher average scores than the United States were Finland, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Canada, Estonia, Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Slovenia.

In the PISA measurements for mathematics, U.S. students ranked 25th and outperformed their peers in math in only five OECD countries. The OECD countries with average scores higher than the U.S. average were Korea, Finland, Switzerland, Japan, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Belgium, Australia, Germany, Estonia, Iceland, Denmark, Slovenia, Norway, France, and the Slovak Republic.

"The hard truth," Secretary [of Education] Duncan said at Tuesday’s PISA announcement, "is that other high-performing nations have passed us by during the last two decades... In a highly competitive knowledge economy, maintaining the educational status quo means America's students are effectively losing ground."

The World Economic forum ranks the United States 48th in quality of mathematics and science education.

The most recent ten year employment projections by the U.S. Labor Department show that of the 20 fastest growing occupations projected for 2014, 15 of them require significant mathematics or science preparation to successfully compete for a job.

The Nevada Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation notes that Nevada will see increases of 20-43% in some computer and medical occupations between 2008 and 2018 and 51% increases for technical and trade schools

Nevada is now 50th in the nation in access to technology in the classroom.

Nevada’s college completion rate has been computed as low as 48% (analyses vary)

Only 22% of Nevada adults hold college degrees, compared with nearly 28% nationwide.

Nevada has the highest high-school dropout rate in the nation. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the average freshman graduation rate at public secondary schools in Nevada was 52% for the 2006-2007 school year compared with the national average of 74%

In 2007, per pupil spending in Nevada was $7,845, 26% lower than the $10,557 U.S. average.

The percent of taxable resources spent on education in Nevada is 2.9%, whereas the U.S. average is 3.8%, making Nevada the second lowest in the nation.

Nevada ranked 51st on the EPE Research Center Chance-for-Success Index which captures the importance of education in a person’s lifetime from cradle to career. Its 13 individual indicators span a variety of factors, including preparation in early childhook, the performance of the public schools, and educational and economic outcomes in adulthood

Eight studies conducted in recent decades indicate that public investments in science and technology have produced annualized societal returns that range from 20% to 67%. Some economists estimate that about half the nation’s growth in gross domestic product per capita during the last half-century can be attributed to scientific and engineering achievements.

The National Academies Gathering Storm committee concluded that a primary driver of the future economy and concomitant creation of jobs will be innovation, largely derived from advances in science and engineering. While only four percent of the nation’s workforce is composed of scientists and engineers, this group disproportionately creates jobs for the other 96 percent.

Of Wal-Mart’s 6000 suppliers, 5,000 are in China.

Almost one-third of U.S. manufacturing companies responding to a recent survey say they are suffering from some level of skills shortages.

United States consumers spend significantly more on potato chips than the government devotes to energy R&D.

“The NAEP science proficiency rates in science for black, Hispanic, and low-income students are about four times lower than are the rates for their white and more affluent classmates. Among eighth-graders, for example, 41 percent of white and more affluent students are proficient, or higher, as compared to just 12 percent of Latino and low-income students and 8 percent of African Americans.” The Education Trust

“Low-income and minority students are now the majority in America’s public schools. Regaining our global edge demands that we dramatically boost their skills and knowledge and eliminate—once and for all—the achievement gap. But that’s not enough. Today’s NAEP rates make clear that too many of our more fortunate kids aren’t being served all that well, either. We have to close these gaps and raise achievement for all students.” Kati Haycock, President, The Education Trust

The most recent NAEP testing shows that only one in five high school seniors scored proficient in science. Yet the top 10 fastest growing occupations in the U.S. require science and mathematics, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth." Aristotle