The purpose of the Consortium is to encourage states to work together when developing strategies for improving STEM education and conducting workforce needs assessments to enhance American innovation. The Consortium would establish an Interstate Council on STEM Education consisting of a wide range of STEM education stakeholders. The Interstate Council on STEM Education would be responsible for:

• Identifying points of weakness in the STEM education system and prioritizing strategies for addressing problem areas;
• Developing rigorous, common content standards in STEM education for grades K-12;
• Designing strategies to increase the participation and success of underrepresented populations;
• Developing innovative STEM assessment practices that measure higher order thinking skills, problem solving, analysis, and synthesis; and
• Creating curriculum tools and professional development that foster innovation and inventiveness.