Studies have revealed that students in high-poverty areas often lack access to rigorous STEM learning opportunities, such as computer science, physics, or calculus courses. Consider these examples:

A 2017 report from the nonprofit organization Change the Equation found large disparities in the opportunities for students from different socio-economic backgrounds to learn STEM content. For instance, 61 percent of fourth-graders attending low-poverty schools complete hands-on science activities at least once a week, compared with 47 percent of students in high-poverty schools. And while 90 percent of students in low-poverty schools can take a physics class, only 43 percent of those in high-poverty schools can.
A 2018 analysis by the Government Accountability Office found that 85 percent of low-poverty high schools offer calculus classes, but only half of high-poverty high schools do. More than 80 percent of low-poverty schools offer at least one Advanced Placement® (AP®) course, compared with 60 percent of high-poverty schools. Roughly 70 percent of low-poverty schools, but only 30 percent of high-poverty schools, offer 10 or more AP® courses to students.
Low-poverty high schools are nearly twice as likely to offer a computer science course as high-poverty schools (62 percent vs. 33 percent), according to Code.org.

Why do these disparities exist? One reason is that high-poverty schools often struggle to attract and retain teachers with the expertise needed to develop and teach courses in these highly specialized subject areas. The result is that students in these so-called "STEM deserts" have fewer opportunities for advanced STEM learning in school.

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