Raising Expectations: Our Future Prosperity
Preparing our students to be leaders in math and science

How prepared are Minnesota students for the future?

chart showing students meeting ACT benchmarks

  • 56% of high school students met ACT’s benchmarks for math.1
  • 40% met benchmarks for science.1
    This does not reflect the gaps in college readiness by race/ethnicity.

Chart showing students meeting math and science benchmarks

  • Increased academic standards and accountability have improved performance in math and science from a decade ago.2
  • Compared with countries around the world, Minnesota ranks high, but is not yet considered elite in math and science.2

How many science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) degrees is Minnesota producing now?3

Chart showing STEM degrees awarded

What is Minnesota’s demand for STEM-related occupations?

  • Nine of the top 15 high growth/high pay occupations will require educational background in science and math.4
  • All of these occupations will grow a minimum of 23% within the next ten years with an average of 6,700 openings per year.4

Chart showing fastest growing occupations

1ACT data and benchmark analysis
2SciMathMN Release of Preliminary 2007 MN TIMSS Analysis
3National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS
4Department of Employment and Economic Development, Employment Outlook Tool