Inspired Minds

The latest NAEP results reveal that the average math scores of fourth and eighth grade students remain below pre-pandemic levels. In 2024, only 39 percent of fourth grade students performed at or above the NAEP Proficient in math, three percentage points higher compared to 2022 and two percentage points lower compared to 2019. Scores on the 2024 NAEP science assessment are expected to be similarly low given the relative inattention to science instruction in learning recovery efforts. Combined, these trends have created an increased awareness of the need for high-quality STEM learning, both in and outside of school, to help address learning loss and increase STEM engagement.

Too often, school-day science suffers from ineffective STEM pedagogy that fails to offer authentic STEM practices that are relevant to kids’ lives and their interests. Additionally, school-day science often faces deprioritization over more frequently tested subjects such as math and English language arts. Exacerbating this issue is the rise in chronic absenteeism—defined as missing at least 10 percent of days in a school year. Approximately 26 percent of students were considered chronically absent during SY 2022–23.

Students regularly participating in afterschool programs experience increases in academic performance and increases in the likelihood of graduating from high school. Out-of-school settings are also particularly well-suited to promote social-emotional outcomes, such as empathy, self-awareness, and responsible decision-making, due to greater flexibility in programming and a deeper focus on exploration and student-driven learning. This is particularly true for high-quality STEM programs: students in these programs reported greater social-emotional growth compared to those in lower-quality programs, and research shows a strong correlation between STEM and social-emotional learning outcomes. But those aren’t the only benefits: teachers and community members often value out-of-school STEM programs for their impact beyond student outcomes and engagement, including their ability to enhance teachers’ professional development and skills.

Market data show continued high parent demand for out-of-school programs, with 26 and 41 percent, of parents reporting their child regularly participating in an afterschool or summer program, respectively. While demand is high, 55 percent of providers report concern that they’ll be able to meet demand and 53 percent of programs report trouble filling slots. This mismatch in demand and availability is fueled by high program costs, challenges in discovering available opportunities, and low-quality programming. When asked about afterschool programming in particular, principals say the number-one thing they would change is to offer more STEM, but they also report challenges in finding high-quality STEM program providers and access funding to pay for them.