Serious attention has been directed in recent years towards the need for increasing the number of high school graduates in the United States who are prepared for postsecondary education, training and careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The number of jobs in U.S. STEM occupations grew by 10.5 percent from May 2009 to May 2015--and this trend is not expected to slow; the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that computer occupations alone will create nearly 50,000 new jobs between 2014 and 2024. In this article, the author examines why sufficient preparation throughout their K-12 education is essential to ensuring that students succeed in college and in STEM fields. It also describes ACT initiatives designed to draw attention to the importance of preparing students in STEM.