ATLANTA — The nation’s work force will be in jeopardy unless all high school students are better prepared for college study and today’s highly skilled workplace, says a new report from the Southern Regional Education Board.
Too many high schools focus their academics and guidance on students who plan to enroll in four-year colleges, overlooking the many students who will enter community colleges, technical schools or the workplace. As a result, a significant percentage of students are dropping out of high school and are on a lifetime path to low-wage jobs or unemployment, notes Lost in Transition: Building a Better Path from School to College and Careers.
About one-fourth of the nation’s public high school students do not graduate from high school on time. And nearly two-thirds of high school graduates do not earn a college degree, certificate or other credential — a problem that threatens to undermine economic progress in SREB states and the nation if unaddressed, the report says.
Lost in Transition recommends specific actions states can take to encourage all students to pursue a course of study that will prepare them for the challenges ahead. The actions are based on discussions by nearly 500 state education and policy leaders at forums in 15 states over two years sponsored by SREB and the Phoenix-based League for Innovation in the Community College.
Job one is for states and school districts to help more high school students complete a rigorous academic core to prepare them better for college and careers, the report notes. For many students, this can best be done by creating programs of study options that combine challenging academic studies with a sequence of career/technical courses in high-demand, high-wage fields aligned to college and career readiness standards, the report suggests.
"Collaborations between high schools and colleges and technical schools are the key," said Gene Bottoms, the senior vice president who led the 15-state project for SREB. "When school districts and community colleges work in partnership, they can develop policies and strategies that support more students and motivate them to complete their studies."
"Given the worker shortage in America, we cannot afford to lose students in transition from high school to postsecondary education. Collaboration and communication between our secondary and postsecondary systems is a must," said Laurance J. Warford, the League’s College and Career Transitions Initiative project director and senior workforce consultant.
Among the specific recommendations in the report: High schools, community colleges and four-year colleges together need to create job shadowing and more authentic career/technical programs and internships that excite students about learning and introduce them to the skills they will need for high-demand fields.
Dual-credit courses — in which students can take college courses for credit while still in high school — need to represent college-level work. Some dual-credit courses in community colleges are not academically rigorous, and students may benefit from taking Advanced Placement courses instead, the report notes.
Community colleges also need to be clearer about "open admissions" and what students must know and be able to do in order to earn credit toward a degree and avoid remedial studies. Improving students’ readiness is not a performance factor in most state accountability systems for high schools or two-year colleges and needs to become a priority for both, the report says.
"New collaborations among our K-12 schools and colleges can help students get ready for more satisfying lives and careers. The economic security of our states and nation depends on it," Bottoms said.
SREB is working with states to improve students’ readiness for college or career preparation. SREB is helping states develop specific college/career readiness standards — defining the levels of reading, writing and math skills that all students need in order to pursue college study or career training. The standards will be the basis for revised high school exams in each state and intensive extra-help programs for students who need them. Such a system will help states address the nearly 70 percent of students who are not well-prepared for college work upon high school graduation, according to the ACT.
For more information on these topics or the report, contact SREB Communications. For more information on the work of the League for Innovation in the Community College, contact Laurance J. Warford at (480) 705-8200, Ext. 221.
SREB, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, advises state education leaders on improving education. SREB was created in 1948 by Southern governors and legislatures to help leaders in education and government work cooperatively to advance education and improve the social and economic life of the region. SREB has 16 member states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Each is represented by its governor and four gubernatorial appointees.
