Good News and Bad News in Closing the Gaps

Trends and data on graduates from traditionally underrepresented groups, the “digital divide,” college preparation, and foreign STEM investment.

Published March 1, 2000

By Frank B. Hicks, Ph.D. and Susan U. Raymond, Ph.D.
Academy Contributors

Graduates from Traditionally Underrepresented Groups

TREND: More Grad Students in Science and Engineering from Traditionally Underrepresented Groups

Nationally and regionally, Blacks and Hispanics (who make up about one fifth of the national and one quarter of the regional population) have comprised a growing share of the students pursuing advanced degrees in science and engineering. In the region, the overall fraction rose from 5.8% in 1982 to 12.3% in 1998.

UPSHOT: Progress, But Much Room for Improvement

More students mean more degrees—4.6% of the region’s students receiving science and engineering (S&E) Ph.D.s in 1997 were Blacks and Hispanics, compared to only 2.3% twenty years earlier. While the region as a whole runs on a par with the nation in its share of graduate students, it trails in its annual share of S&E Ph.D. recipients.

The “Digital Divide”

TREND: Lower Computer Exposure

Nationally, about half of White households, but only a quarter of Black and Hispanic households, own at least one computer. And there is no simple explanation: income and education level are factors, but not the only ones. In the Tri-State region, New Jersey leads in narrowing the gap.

UPSHOT: Missing Which Skills?

Does having a home computer build academic skills or just Pac-Man scores? Access to computers is certainly important for acquiring the skills necessary to build a well-prepared workforce, but with computers increasingly available in libraries, schools, and activity centers, the importance of home ownership is unclear.

The Pre-College Years

TREND: Gaps in Math Skills

White children in the fourth grade are about twice as likely as their Black and Hispanic peers to have at least basic math skills, according to national mathematics testing. The gaps typically run above 40 percentage points both nationally and in the region, and the disparity tends to grow as the children get older.

UPSHOT: A Missing Foundation

Unlike the digital divide data, there is little question that lower math scores imply missing skills. The gaps at grade four continue, rippling on into grades eight and twelve. While underrepresented students are making progress at advanced levels (like in S&E graduate school), work needs to be done to ensure that all students leave high school with at least basic skills.

Foreign Investment Shows Strong International Ties in the Tri-State Region

The Tri-State region is home to 118 stand-alone research facilities owned by foreign parent companies. California, the region’s closest competition, leads the entire nation with 188 facilities (about a quarter of the U.S. total), but New Jersey clinches second with its 67 facilities, New York (33 facilities) claims seventh, and Connecticut (18 facilities) is tenth nationally.

New Jersey’s balanced success draws nearly equally from its electronics, instrumentation, biotech, and chemical industries. When it comes to the total value of plant, property, and equipment of all foreign-owned affiliates (including non-technical businesses), the region tops even California, with nearly $93 billion of plants and equipment in place. This wealth of physical plant is the result of long and fruitful international cooperation within the region.

Also read: Science and Engineering Immigrants Advance Region’s Economics

Sources

• National Science Foundation WebCASPAR Database System.
• U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, December 1998 Supplement.
• National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP 1996 Mathematics Report Card for the Nation and States.
• “Globalizing Industrial Research and Development,” Office of Technology Policy, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1999; International Accounts Data, Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce.