Page 8 - Standards for K-12 Engineering Education

Standards for K-12 Engineering Education?

Preface

This report is the final product of a two-year study by the Committee on Standards for K–
12 Engineering Education, a group of experts on diverse subjects working under the auspices of
the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). The committee’s charge was to assess the poten-
tial value and feasibility of developing and implementing content standards for engineering
education at the K–12 level in the United States. Such standards have been developed for three
disciplines in STEM education—science, technology, and mathematics—but not for engineering.
In fulfilling its charge, the committee reviewed existing efforts to define what K–12 students
should know and be able to do related to engineering; evaluated evidence for the value and
impact of content standards in other areas of K–12 education; identified elements of existing
standards documents for K–12 science, mathematics, and technology that could link to engineer-
ing; and considered how the various purposes for K–12 engineering education might affect the
content and implementation of standards.
Historically, in U.S. elementary and secondary schools, the “E” of STEM has been
virtually silent. But a small and apparently growing number of efforts are being made to intro-
duce engineering experiences to K–12 students. Given this phenomenon, the emphasis on stan-
dards in education reform in this country, and concerns about how well we are preparing students
for life and work in the highly technological 21st century, it is reasonable that we focus attention
on the need for and value of standards for K–12 engineering education.
This report should be of interest to a variety of audiences, including leaders in the K–12
STEM education community, STEM professional societies, policy makers at the state and federal
levels, businesses and industries engaged in K–12 STEM education outreach, individuals and
organizations responsible for teacher education and teacher professional development, and devel-
opers of curricula, assessments, and textbooks.
The committee met face-to-face three times and many more times by telephone. In addi-
tion, the committee sponsored a two-day data-gathering workshop and commissioned six papers
on topics relevant to the charge. The report is based on the data gathered through these efforts,
as well as on the personal and professional experience and judgments of committee members.

Robert M. White, Chair
Committee on Standards for K–12 Engineering Education

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