Education Week (6/8, Gewertz) reports, "After years of intense focus by American policy leaders and educators on college readiness, a growing chorus is calling for schools to better prepare students for futures that might not include four-year degrees." The piece cites a recent Harvard study titled "Pathways to Prosperity" which focuses on "concerns...as the country's dominant education push has been to raise academic standards and make more young people into successful college students. By pressing students onto a college path, some observers wonder, are we shortchanging students whose future plans might not include a baccalaureate degree?" The piece notes that a large percentage of jobs created between now and 2018 will not require a college degree, and quotes Education Secretary Arne Duncan saying, "It's about giving students a more robust set of options and letting them choose their own path."
Meanwhile, an Education Week (6/8) editorial notes that the recent push to "ensure that American students leave K-12 schools 'college and career ready,' the major emphasis has been on the 'college' part-and especially on four-year colleges." This, however, "hasn't panned out for everyone. Seventy percent of students now enroll in a two- or four-year college within two years of graduating from high school, but many drop out a year or two later, often winding up thousands of dollars in debt and with no clear path to a well-paying occupation." The piece focuses on how to identify options outside of the four-year college paradigm.
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