Today, I submitted written testimony to the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Programs.
Chairman Moran, Ranking Member Van Hollen, and members of the Subcommittee:
My name is Dan Lips. I am a senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation, a think tank focused on promoting innovation, strengthening governance, and advancing national security. A focus of my research has been identifying opportunities to promote advanced talent development in STEM education and to increase the return on investment of federal education research and development (R&D).
I write to respectfully recommend that the Subcommittee include report language to direct the National Science Foundation (NSF) to promote advanced talent development in STEM education for American elementary and secondary students. First, I encourage the Committee to direct NSF to reestablish the Young Scholars Program and award scholarships to K-12 students with advanced potential in STEM subjects. Second, I recommend that the Subcommittee grant the STEM Directorate the authority to repurpose education research funds to promote advanced talent development. Third, I recommend that the Subcommittee priorities studying advanced education in its STEM education research programs. Fourth, I encourage the committee to direct NSF to consider other options to increase the return on investment of NSF-funded education research.
During the twentieth century, the United States enacted national policies, including the National Defense Education Act of 1958, aimed at identifying and developing students with the potential for advanced coursework in STEM fields. However, for more than half a century, national education policy has broadly neglected advanced education. Restoring a national focus on identifying and nurturing K-12 students with the potential for high achievement in STEM fields is necessary for supporting national security and economic competitiveness, promoting scientific and technological discovery, and enabling human flourishing.
NSF has broad statutory authority to strengthen the effectiveness of its STEM education programs and to increase the return on investment from EDU Directorate expenditures on STEM education initiatives. To reverse the nation’s longstanding neglect of advanced talent development in K-12 education, I recommend that the Subcommittee prioritize the following issues in the report accompanying the FY2027 funding bill.
1. Reestablish the Young Scholars Program and provide scholarships to advanced STEM students in K-12 education.
NSF launched the Young Scholars Program in 1988, using $3.7 million in funding to create enrichment programs in science, engineering, and mathematics for talented students in grades 7 through 12 outside school and during the summer. But after serving roughly 18,000 students, the program ended in 1996. Reestablishing this program but transforming it into a scholarship program for advanced STEM students would strengthen the pipeline of students prepared to pursue advanced STEM courses and work in postsecondary education and the workforce. Critically, such a program would establish mentoring relationships between STEM experts and high school students. This would ensure that the nation’s best and brightest students have guidance as they prepare for postsecondary education. To reestablish this program, I suggest the following report language:
In the 1980s and 1990s, NSF operated a Young Scholars Program that provided academic enrichment opportunities for promising K-12 students with the potential for high academic achievement in STEM subjects. The Committee encourages NSF to reestablish the Young Scholars Program by creating a new initiative to award scholarships to students with exceptional abilities in STEM subjects. NSF shall brief the Committee within 180 days of enactment on a plan to reestablish this program.
2. Grant the STEM Directorate the Authority to Repurpose Education Research Funds to Promote Advanced Talent Development Initiatives.
NSF’s leadership should have the authority to identify and repurpose funds that would achieve a higher return on investment for the nation’s security and scientific objectives by supporting advanced talent development in elementary and secondary education to identify and train the next generation of scientists and innovators. To that end, I recommend the following report language:
The Committee recognizes that the nation’s long-term scientific and economic competitiveness depends upon the identification and cultivation of exceptional STEM talent in elementary and secondary education. Accordingly, the Committee authorizes the NSF’s Directorate for STEM Education to repurpose existing funding to establish or support K-12 advanced talent development initiatives. The Committee further directs NSF to submit to the Committee, not later than 180 days after enactment of this Act, a strategic plan describing how EDU will repurpose existing resources to support such initiatives, including metrics for evaluating program effectiveness.
3. Prioritize advanced education in NSF-funded education research programs.
For too long, NSF-funded education research has not focused on the need to identify and provide accelerated learning opportunities to elementary and secondary students who have the potential for advanced STEM achievement. To reverse this trend, the Subcommittee could include the following report language that would direct NSF to review its education research portfolio and reprioritize advanced education:
The Committee is concerned that past NSF-funded education research studies have not prioritized advanced STEM instruction and the need for elementary and secondary schools to meet the needs of high-aptitude students. The Committee encourages the STEM Directorate to review its current research portfolio and identify opportunities to prioritize advanced talent development and advanced STEM instruction, including by supporting the development and dissemination of best practices or tools that would expand access to advanced coursework for K-12 students.
4. Identify other ways that NSF could increase the return-on-investment of previously funded education research, such as by establishing an AI-powered evidence hub.
To ensure that research is useful to policymakers and practitioners and to provide actionable insights that can support the educational needs of students, the Committee could require NSF’s EDU Directorate to establish an AI-Powered STEM Education Research Evidence Hub to review and synthesize research evidence and provide recommendations on best practices to parents, teachers, school leaders, and policymakers. Establishing such a tool has the potential to dramatically increase the return on investment from federally funded research.
Thank you for the opportunity to submit written testimony.
