Most Americans think U.S. K-12 STEM education isn’t above average, but test results paint a mixed picture
Just 28% of U.S. adults say America is the best in the world or above average in K-12 STEM education compared with other wealthy nations.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Just 28% of U.S. adults say America is the best in the world or above average in K-12 STEM education compared with other wealthy nations.
22% of Americans say they interact with artificial intelligence almost constantly or several times a day. 27% say they do this about once a day or several times a week.
The share of Americans who say climate scientists understand very well whether climate change is occurring decreased from 37% in 2021 to 32% this year.
The share of Americans who say science has had a mostly positive impact on society has fallen 16 percentage points since before the start of the coronavirus outbreak, from 73% in January 2019 to 57% today.
Many Americans are aware of common ways they might encounter AI in daily life, though fewer are able to correctly identify each of the six common uses of AI in the survey. More broadly, the public remains more concerned than excited about the increasing use of AI in daily life.
The higher education pipeline suggests a long path is ahead for increasing diversity, especially in fields like computing and engineering.
About nine-in-ten (88%) Americans say, overall, the benefits of childhood vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella outweigh the risks, identical to the share who said this before the coronavirus outbreak. U.S. adults are less confident in COVID-19 vaccines: Fewer than half rate them as having high health benefits and a low risk of side effects.
Large majorities value government investments in science and consider it important for the United States to be a world leader in scientific achievement, but few think the country is gaining ground globally.
A majority of Americans (69%) say it’s essential for the U.S. to continue to be a world leader in space. As private companies become a bigger part of the industry, the public gives them more positive than negative ratings for their contributions to space exploration and spacecraft development. Still, Americans continue to say NASA has a critical role to play going forward.
Trust in scientists and medical scientists has fallen below pre-pandemic levels, with 29% of U.S. adults saying they have a great deal of confidence in medical scientists to act in the best interests of the public. This is down from 40% in November 2020 and 35% in January 2019, before COVID-19 emerged. Other prominent groups – including the military, police officers and public school principals – have also seen their ratings decline.
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