This week in education news, finding jobs post-graduation is becoming more challenging for international STEM students; Arizona science teachers speak out against proposed state science standards; ACT to design a “creative thinking assessment” for worldwide use in 2021; 44 states have implemented at least one K-12 computer science policy; Missouri house bill aims to increase STEM awareness; and AAAS announces new center to communicate scientific evidence on public issues.

It’s Getting Harder For International STEM Students To Find Work After Graduation

Today, more than 300 schools participate in the #YouAreWelcomeHere campaign. But as students return to campus for the fall semester, shifting immigration policies have put that message in doubt. Some of those policy changes have affected the F-1 visa, which allows international students to stay after graduation to pursue additional training. Students who participate in a federally designated university program in STEM can remain for up to three years, for what’s officially known as “optional practical training.” In order to qualify, they have to line up jobs before graduating, then submit training plans for approval by their schools. Read the article featured in The Atlantic.

Science Educators Need To Talk About The Identity Of Scientists

It’s been painful to watch the fall of Brian Wansink, a Cornell University marketing professor whose work on the psychology of food consumption has had an outsize impact on academics, policymakers, the general public — and me. In the wake of the Wansink scandal, there have been renewed calls for reforming the methods and culture of scientific inquiry: But there is an equally important change that needs to happen far earlier, when students are learning about scientific inquiry in middle and high school. Read the article featured in The Washington Post.

‘Science Not Fairy Tales:’ Teachers Speak Out Against Proposed Science Standards

Parents and teachers on Monday rallied outside an Arizona Board of Education meeting, and then took turns during the meeting blasting a proposal to remove references to evolution and climate change from state science standards. Read the article featured in The Arizona Republic.

A Test To Assess Creativity? It’s In The Works

When teenagers all over the world take the PISA exam in 2021, they could face a new kind of test: one that aims to measure their creativity. And the maker of a major U.S. college-admissions exam—ACT—will build it. Read the article featured in Education Week.

Report: 44 States Have Implemented At Least One K-12 Computer Science Policy

Since 2013, the number of states with at least one policy related to computer science education in K-12 schools has increased from 14 to 44, according to a State of Computer Science Education report released Thursday from the Code.org Advocacy Coalition and the Computer Science Teachers Association. Read the brief featured in Education DIVE.

Missouri House Bill Aims to Increase STEM Awareness

The Missouri state Legislature passed House Bill 3 to create new policies to promote STEM education. But according to the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, the state does not have enough people to fill STEM jobs. The first part of the House Bill 3 creates the “STEM Career Awareness Program” for middle schoolers. The bill also would allow high schoolers to substitute a computer science course for a core math, science or practical arts credit with a parent’s permission. Read or listen to the article featured on KBIA radio.

AAAS Announces New Center to Communicate Scientific Evidence on Public Issues

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) announced the launch of the Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues, which will bring clearly and strategically communicated information to decision-makers–from policymakers to parents–and to others who influence them, when they need it most. The new Center will address important policy issues that are at the forefront of public conversation and involve a broad range of audiences. Read the press release from AAAS.

Stay tuned for next week’s top education news stories.

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