Academic-Capital

Military students are precious contributors to society and have the discipline mixed with service mentality to help them. To understand these students better requires a look at where and how they enroll within the education system. A 2011 report by the National Center for Education Statistics helps understand what these students are doing in college from a more macro scale.  The study relies on the 2007–08 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:08) and the 2004/09 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/09) to come to some interesting conclusions. Key findings include: -In 2007–08, 4 percent of all undergraduates and 4 percent of all graduate students were either veterans or current military service members. -Majority of students were male and married. - A higher percentage, when compared to non-military students, attended private nonprofit 4-year institutions and were as likely as non-military students to attend public 2-year colleges

According to a 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) Americans are slipping in readiness. Math is on the decline and they are not doing much better in reading or science. The trend is concerning as American students are not preparing to take over highly skilled, technologically advanced and scientific oriented positions in an increasingly difficult and complex world. As intellectual capital declines so does a nations future opportunities.   Americans dropped to the 26 th slot in math, 21 st slot in science, and the 17 th slot in reading.   The report indicates that nearly 15% of the variance in U.S. students is due to socio-economic issues that include motivation and interest. Students in the country simply view math and hard science as difficult or uninteresting. They do not choose these fields as their occupational approach. Asian countries are on the rise. China appears to be doing well. Even though American students have not slipped much they have

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data related to education in the United States and other nations. Their recent report on college student STEM field attrition rates is designed to help understand potential factors of STEM competency loss. Government officials and business leaders are seeking to find ways to improve attrition rates in an effort to maintain U.S. intellectual abilities. The report found that 28 percent of bachelor’s degree and 20% of associate’s degree students entering into a STEM field within 6 years of entering college in 2003-2004. Biology attracted 11% while math and physical sciences were unpopular at 2-3%. Associate degree seekers (9%) were looking for computer/information sciences that have a higher rate of pay when compared to the other fields.  A total of 48% of bachelor’s students and 69% of associate’s students left the STEM field by 2009. Interestingly, fie