Those guesses are surely correct at least sometimes. But what if they were right more often? Could it help schools put more students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds on a path to economic security? 

To find potential answers to these questions, the Urban Institute, where I lead the Center on Education Data and Policy, recently launched the . This year, we will in innovative research and development through our first request for proposals. The goal is to help educators understand which skills in schools are most strongly associated with long-term success, through research linking students’ competencies to upward mobility and by building new, easily collectable measures. An example of this could be a metric for career preparedness encompassing job-preparation and technical abilities.

It is important to first define how we view “mobility” through the context of this work, as we are using a of the term developed by the Urban Institute:  

• “Economic success: When a person has adequate income and assets to support their and their family’s material well-being.
• Power and autonomy: When a person has the ability to have control over their life, to make choices and to influence larger policies and actions that affect their future.
• Dignity and belonging: When a person feels the respect, dignity and sense of belonging that comes from contributing to and being appreciated by people in their community.”

An example of the types of work that Urban institute seeks to fund is in the area of noncognitive factors such as teamwork, grit and communication, which have been identified as predictors of wages and other positive life outcomes. A potential project could link data on noncognitive factors in school-age students at many schools to adult economic outcomes and compare variations among schools against economic mobility. 

To take it a step further, research could seek to determine whether a student’s noncognitive factors are more predictive of mobility if they are measured by a teacher of the same race.

A second objective is to expand the universe of mobility measurements. For example, has demonstrated that a student’s percentage of friends with high socioeconomic status is a key correlate of upward mobility for people with lower socioeconomic status. A potential project under this RFP could develop a new measure of social capital that could be collected in PK-12 schools. A proposed study might consider how the measure works in rural versus urban areas, and how it should incorporate school and neighborhood segregation.

Identifying the pre-K-12 skills that matter most for lifetime success takes a long time, between developing new measures, collecting data on them in schools, waiting many years for students to reach adulthood and connecting all the needed information. But the advantages to having this evidence are too great to ignore, and the current landscape is too bleak: Students who grow up in the poorest 20% of families have a of remaining poor as adults.

This is not to say that those pre-K-12 skills are the sole causes of, or potential solutions to, . Students face barriers that affect their ability to learn, such as substandard and inadequate health care, and that diminish the fruits of their labors after they leave school, such as and . This is why we are pushing all our grantees to consider individual students’ circumstances both in and beyond school. 

Today, most schools largely rely on the same measures of student success they’ve used for decades, such as reading and math scores, attendance and graduation rates. If our initiative is successful, schools in 2034 will regularly measure a set of skills that drive economic mobility and consciously work to improve them. That could make a real difference helping all students thrive after graduation — and put more low-income students on a path to economic security.

Not many make it all the way through to graduation. And for those who do, even with a degree, entering the workforce can be equally difficult.

If they come from a family that struggles to make it from one paycheck to the next, they’ll feel pressure to contribute right away, which may lead them to accept jobs below the education level they worked so hard to attain. First-generation graduates are 8% more likely to take a job that their bachelor’s degrees.

They need help, clearly. That’s why my organization, Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City, has been running a College and Career Success Program for about five years. Some 600 students have participated in that time, and around 350 undergraduates — all of whom are former Littles in our other programs — are in this project now. The majority attend the State University of New York or City University of New York, but participants are enrolled at about 75 schools across the country. Most are in bachelor’s degree programs, but we support students at community colleges as well.

The idea is simple: Littles have the opportunity to opt into our College and Career Success Program while they are in high school. We help them identify colleges as juniors and apply, with the support of a counselor. After graduation, they’re able to formally join the program, which guarantees them support through college and into their first career job. They then connect with a mentor, or Big, who checks in on the students throughout their undergraduate years and ensures they have the support, guidance and resources they need to graduate. It is the role of the Bigs to explain their own journey and the help they accessed along the way. This is important because many students feel they have to do it on their own and that asking for help is a sign of weakness or failure. But in reality, no one succeeds alone.

Students and mentors have a monthly check-in guide that brings structure to their conversations around college persistence and success. These check-ins have themes that shift each semester, covering everything from navigating campus life to laying the foundation for success after graduation. They include understanding and accessing college life and resources; getting engaged on campus in ways that align with interests and potential career aspirations; identifying a peer group that can support overall college and career goals; and identifying opportunities on campus that can introduce a potential career path and bolster a resume. 

During the first two years of college, these check-in guides are meant to help students stay on track to graduate in a major they are interested in. Right now, it’s working for 82% of our college students.

The conversation shifts starting in the third year toward career exploration and access. We leverage corporate partners to offer what we call Career Pathways programming, which pairs college students with a mentor in an industry they are interested in. Career Pathways are done in cohorts with 15 students and 15 employees from a company or professional organization. They meet weekly for 10 sessions, where students learn about the different careers that exist in a particular industry.

Students have the chance to identify a career and then map out with their mentor actions they can take in college to build their resumes. They will also participate in informational interviews with someone who has the job they want and have an opportunity to connect with the entire cohort of mentors to build their professional network. We also ask mentors to share their professional networks and opportunities with the students.

It’s still early, but results are promising. We had our first graduating class last year, and 80% of participants left the program with a career job or internship. If those results continue, scholars in our program will make it to the finish line and be positioned well for the life that starts beyond it.Most professionals know that embarking on a path to career success takes more than just a degree. It also needs the helping hands and guidance of a network that can open doors that students might otherwise not have access to. The norms of campus life and college resources are unknown to most first-generation students, as is the concept and importance of networking. We hope this program helps level the playing field for these young people.

Edwin Locke and Gary Latham are two scholars who’ve spent nearly 50 years studying goal setting. In the , they advise organizations to set goals that are meaningful and “difficult but attainable.”

One meaningful purpose of schooling has been to prepare students for college and careers. Georgetown University project that by 2031, 72% of jobs in the United States will require at least some college, while 55% will seek applicants with an associate degree or more. This is the reverse of the educational requirements of 40 years ago, when 70% of jobs required a high school diploma or less.

New York’s Board of Regents has made in the last decade, but there’s a general sense they remain aligned with college readiness expectations. State tests give parents and teachers a sense of whether students, all the way down to elementary school, are on track to being college-and career-ready.

With this system in place, it makes sense for New York City’s achievement goals to align with the proportion of students who will eventually need to be prepared to succeed in college over the next decade. In other words, the K-12 and higher education goals should match: Having 72% of K-12 students reading and writing proficiently, and a similar number on track to complete some college, is a meaningful goal for school leaders, teachers and parents.

One advantage is that this goal removes “we’re above average” as the aim, and it gives school districts a target that’s grounded in what the state’s future economy needs. It also applies the same goal for every group: low-income students, English learners, white students, etc. — all must reach 72% proficiency, the same high floor of excellence.

What might it take to get there?

Last year, just 48% of New York City third-graders could read and write proficiently. Increasing that number by 3% a year, across each grade, could have 72% of eighth-graders meeting standards by 2031 and 75% by 2032.

Principals and teachers would need to follow classes of students as they move through school, something most reporting and accountability systems don’t currently do. The trajectory would look like this for each new class:

To reach that goal, each district would have to increase literacy achievement by 3% a year, not just among third-graders, but across every grade. Three percent fits the “difficult but attainable” criterion.

Why not set a goal of 100%? Isn’t it OK to be ambitious and aim high, even if districts miss?

No Child Left Behind famously asked schools to get 100% of students proficient by 2014. managed to achieve the goal. Locke and Latham warn leaders that if a goal is set at a level no one can reach, it eventually undermines individual motivation and effort. People in an organization can easily become demoralized if they believe the goals set for them are unachievable. Better for district leaders to treat 72% as the floor for all and raise it once they have experience on what it takes to get there.

For districts whose communities insist on 100%, they might consider the approach the United Nations uses with its sustainability goals, which aim for . In schools, this would mean getting to no students at “below standard” and all students scoring as “partially proficient” or higher.

Preparing students to be college and career ready is , but it is one of the most important. As school leaders develop and refine their strategic plans, it’s crucial that they keep “meaningful and difficult but attainable” as the criterion.
Growing 3% a year feels do-able from classroom to classroom. It’s realistic, . If New York City is consistent in its efforts, it will be one of the nation’s leaders in literacy achievement.

To solve these challenges, the state and the nation at large need a that is prepared to address the concerns of today, find solutions for tomorrow and transition the country to a more climate-conscious economy. Unfortunately, the rapidly growing clean-energy sector is bumping up against serious labor constraints, having difficulty filling jobs and ensuring that workers have the needed skills. In the next seven years, there are expected to be over  in the U.S. In 2022 alone, green job postings on LinkedIn jumped 20% — yet the pool of workers with the skills required to fill them grew by only 8.4%.

Regions like the Yampa Valley need help attracting and developing talent that can combat this worsening crisis. A leader in this initiative is Lyra, a nonprofit that seeks to reimagine education by designing and broadening climate-driven career pathways and empowering school communities to drive their own reforms. The organization does this through : innovation zones, mission accelerators and that is increasingly pertinent to solving some of the state’s most dire challenges. 

The Climatarium brings together education, industry and state and local policymakers to encourage collaboration to build climate-related education pathways and offer youth leadership and career opportunities in relevant fields. There are five in the state, including one in the Yampa Valley. The hubs have created regional partnerships

among seven colleges, 20 rural K-12 school districts and more than 40 employers and community-based organizations. They are developing and sustaining a range of green job pathways, including in energy, agriculture and outdoor tourism. 

These offerings have the potential to impact more than by creating college and career opportunities in highly in-demand fields. This, in turn, can boost the economic prosperity of rural areas of the state by creating strong talent pipelines that are attractive to industry. To expand these best practices and ensure their impact, there needs to be broader, statewide support, which is why it is so important that , the Seal of Climate Literacy Diploma Endorsement, recently passed through the House Committee on Education.

Students can earn the seal on their high school diplomas by, for example, taking Advanced Placement physical, life or earth sciences, or participating in a career education program geared toward alternative energy, like solar farms. The bill’s sponsor, Democratic state Sen. Chris Hanson, said the seal would help students get skills for jobs that are expected to grow by , including installing solar panels, electric chargers or heating and cooling systems. The seal would also prepare students for college by signaling their understanding of climate-related issues to admissions officers and could even result in college credit. 

The bill is also endorsed by Superintendent Kirk Henwood of the South Routt School District, which is located in the Yampa Valley. Henwood that, “having a seal of climate literacy furthers our efforts to ensure that our high school graduates have the verified skills and knowledge needed to enter the workforce and postsecondary education opportunities.” He added, “understanding the climate and environment is critical to sustain a rural way of life where land and water are literally the building blocks of our world.”

While the bill is waiting for final passage, it shows that progress is being made to prepare Colorado’s workforce for the energy-related jobs of today and tomorrow. It’s a win for the state — and, said Lyra CEO and founder Mary Seawell, other states are interested in replicating both the Seal of Climate Literacy and place-based approaches to climate education.

Other state and federal leaders can and should commit to this work – supporting a 21^st century education system that is more responsive to labor market demands, the community and the . This includes expanding high-quality opportunities in career and technical education, youth apprenticeships, STEM programs and other pathways so young people are prepared for careers across the energy sector. This work is critical to transforming students’ lives, ensuring that communities stay economically vital and guaranteeing that places like the Yampa Valley never stop being breathtaking.

Disclosure: Walton Family Foundation and the City Fund provide financial support to the Progressive Policy Institute and The 74.

In January, the surveyed more than 1,600 public K-12 schools from every state and the District of Columbia — where 53 percent in low poverty neighborhoods said they do a “very good” or “excellent” job preparing students for college and 52 percent said the same for the workforce.

But public school educators in high poverty neighborhoods were lower at 33 and 43 percent respectively.

“If they’re assessing themselves based on the post-graduation success of their students, it makes sense why they feel they’re not doing as well,” said Josh Wyner, founder and executive director of the .

Wyner said the college enrollment rate of high school students from low-income backgrounds is generally less than those from higher income areas, and they end up facing lower wages long-term if they go directly into the workforce.

“While it’s discouraging that schools serving lower income and more diverse students believe they’re not doing as good a job, something they can do about it appears in the study,” he added, noting the correlation between offering more advanced coursework — such as Advanced Placement and dual enrollment — and their perception of how they prepare high school students for the next stage of their lives.

The survey, which serves as part of the latest tracking the pandemic’s impact on public education, asked educators how they viewed their preparation of high school students for college and the workforce on a five-point scale — from “poor” to “excellent.”

About 47 percent said they do a “very good” or “excellent” job preparing students for college and 50 percent said the same for the workforce.

“I hope this data will spark important conversations that lead to improved opportunities for all students,” said NCES commissioner Peggy Carr in a statement.

Here are four things to know about the survey findings:

1. Public school educators in high poverty neighborhoods with more students of color were less likely to say they’re preparing students well for college and the workforce.

The report found public schools in low poverty neighborhoods were more likely to say they do a “very good” or “excellent” job preparing students for college compared to those in high poverty neighborhoods — a difference of 53 and 33 percent respectively.

Statistics were similar about the workforce — a difference of 52 and 43 percent respectively.

The report also found public schools with fewer students of color were more likely to say they do a “very good” or “excellent” job preparing students for college compared to those with a majority — a difference of 57 and 36 percent respectively.

Statistics were similar about the workforce — a difference of 55 and 41 percent respectively.

Wyner said the contrast based on poverty level and the number of students of color comes from the disproportionate access to advanced coursework.

“We’ve known for a long time that AP access is inequitable, but the fact that dual enrollment access is also inequitable…is troubling,” Wyner said.

The study found 73 percent of public schools offered at least one of the following: Advanced Placement, Pre-Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or dual enrollment courses.

About 76 percent of public schools in low poverty neighborhoods offered advanced coursework compared to 65 percent of those in high poverty neighborhoods.

But the difference was greater based on the number of students of color.

About 84 percent of public schools with fewer students of color offered advanced coursework compared to 65 percent of those with a majority.

“It’s a little bit of a surprise because [a majority] of those courses are offered by community colleges which are often located in areas that serve high need high school students,” Wyner said. 

“So you would think that those partnerships would be stronger and enable expanded access to advanced courses — but they don’t.”

2. Public school educators with smaller student populations were less likely to say they’re preparing students well for college and the workforce.

Public schools with less than 300 students were the least likely to say they do a “very good” or “excellent” job preparing students for college and the workforce compared to those with a larger population.

Wyner said this is because public schools with fewer students are generally located in less densely populated areas, such as towns and rural areas, with less resources and proximity to other educational institutions.

“Some of this has to do with urbanicity,” Wyner said. “In some communities, economic opportunity is limited…so high school students, no matter how well-prepared, may not readily be able to find a job if they’re staying in these areas.”

3. Public school educators in towns were less likely to say they’re preparing students well for college — but those in cities had similar attitudes for the workforce.

Public schools in towns were the least likely to say they do a “very good” or “excellent” job preparing students for college compared to those in cities, suburbs or rural areas.

But those in cities were the least likely to have the same attitude about preparing students for the workforce.

Wyner said the local economies are likely driving these perceptions — with public schools in towns and rural areas having a higher number of blue collar jobs compared to cities having a higher number of college opportunities.

“The reality is that schools that are in knowledge-based economies, which tend to be centered in cities, will consider themselves more capable of preparing students for a liberal arts education whereas schools in areas with a higher percentage of jobs in agriculture, manufacturing or some of the more blue collar jobs will view themselves as stronger in preparing students for the workforce,” Wyner said.

“There are also many parts of the country that have long traditions of having jobs that don’t require postsecondary training,” he added, pointing to the lingering impact of careers in the automotive, steel mill and manufacturing industries.

4. Public school educators in the Midwest were less likely to say they’re preparing students well for college — but those in the West had similar attitudes for the workforce. 

Public schools in the Midwest were the least likely to say they do a “very good” or “excellent” job preparing students for college compared to those in the Northeast, South and West.

But those in the West were the least likely to have the same attitude about preparing students for the workforce.

“It makes sense why we see a correlation between location, morality and postsecondary and employment opportunities for students,” Wyner said.

“This study should offer guidance to [public schools] to find the right ways to prepare students for college and the workforce…and give them that sense of self-efficacy that they know what’s right for them.”

The survey polled more than 1,000 registered voters, parents of public high school students in L.A. County and students. It intentionally focused on parents and students from “backgrounds disproportionately impacted by inequities in our education system,” particularly those who are Black, Latino and immigrants. There were also four focus groups, two with students and two with parents.The poll was commissioned by Harbor Freight Tools for Schools, a program created by the founder of Harbor Freight Tools to expand skilled trades classes in high schools across the country.

L.A. County is the most populous in the nation, yet fewer than 1 in 5 public high schools in its 80 school districts offer trade programs and classes. Over the last 25 to 30 years, skilled trades classes in high schools have vanished, and the few that remain are seen as important only for students not planning to attend college. Yet, among respondents who overwhelmingly support the expansion and funding of these classes, over 70% believe they can help students prepare for higher education.

“Incorporating skilled trades into high school curriculums is our ‘north star’ goal,” says Belen Vargas, senior director of Los Angeles County Programs at Harbor Freight Tools for Schools. The L.A. County program provides funding to schools that offer trades classes, like La Mirada High School and Port of Los Angeles High School, and supports mobile programs that do not require a dedicated classroom or on-campus equipment, including afterschool, on weekends and during the summer. The organization advocates for industry, labor and education leaders to support and fund the expansion of these classes in L.A.

Vargas says that what stood out to her in the focus groups was students’ recognition of the importance of construction jobs for their local economy and neighborhoods.

“Young people in the focus group really spoke about wanting to work in a career where it’s improving their community, and they spoke very eloquently about driving around and seeing these big projects going up and how they know that’s that’s to better their community, and they want to be part of that,” Vargas says.

She says the organization team met with over 20 big industry leaders last year. They unanimously agreed that these classes are important but said there is no existing pipeline of skilled professionals ready to take on the dozens of infrastructure projects that will be coming to L.A.

Brent Tuttle, a welding teacher at La Mirada High School, says there’s already a shortage of construction workers, but even more will be needed soon as L.A. prepares to host the Olympics in 2028. 

“There’s welding, plumbing and all these trades out there that are in high demand … but nobody’s filling them because nobody’s trained to do it,” Tuttle says.

He has been teaching welding for 24 years, 14 of them at La Mirada. In 2020, Tuttle was one of 18 trade teachers who received $50,000 from Harbor Freight Tools for Schools.

He says there’s often a stigma attached to taking trade classes because people believe those students are less competent than those attending college and couldn’t get in. Yet he believes that perception is changing slowly as parents and students learn about the high wages many trade professions offer and as more people realize the skill and intellect needed for jobs such as auto mechanic. He says students who learn these skills in high school could be making six figures in five years, whereas those who attend college could graduate with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt and earn far less.

He says that some of his students who went to college found that working in a trade was a better option.

“I didn’t think they were going to be welders, that wasn’t in their plan, but many went to school and they’re like, ‘You know what? This is tougher than I thought. I have this skill and now I’m falling back,’” he says.

Tuttle, who has about 150 students, models his class like a real welding job. His students in advanced classes are expected to arrive an hour and a half before school starts because that is typically when welding jobs begin. They are expected to come in, get dressed and begin working on projects for the first two hours of class. His freshmen and sophomores learn how to use the machinery and learn the basics of five types of welding.

Jacob Pittman, a senior, has already completed all his graduation requirements, so he spends four class periods in the welding workshop and has become a shop lead, helping his classmates. Like many students, Pittman had a difficult time adjusting when the pandemic began, and his grades suffered. Early into high school, he decided college wasn’t for him. His dad was supportive of his decision and introduced him to the option of trade school. Tuttle says Pittman has been a standout student because of his strong work ethic and how quickly he picks up on skills. Tuttle has received approval from the school to hire a shop aide and says he plans to hold off on filling the position while Pittman attends trade school for a year. After that, he intends to hire him.

Pittman says his favorite part of the welding program is the positive environment where everyone seems to genuinely enjoy their time working on their craft and creating projects.

Like Pittman, 17-year-old Nova Thomas enjoys helping younger students. She recalls the summer program where they helped middle school students build barbecue grills as one of her favorite projects. Tuttle says the summer program La Mirada does through Harbor Freight Tools for Schools has allowed more girls to participate. Thomas says she tries to promote the welding program to the middle school girls because of her great experience.

“I’ve definitely always felt comfortable and never felt inferior in the shop,” she says. “It’s always been a safe space, and I’ve never felt like I had to compete for anybody’s respect, so I always appreciate that. During the summer school program, I tried to stress to the girls how important and awesome it would be if they would actually continue with these skilled trades later on.”

Tuttle says his female students typically end up being better welders than his male students because they are more meticulous. He says that though they are usually slower than the male students, it’s because they are focusing on perfecting every level.

“I’m super lucky to have the shop I have,” Tuttle says. “I know I’m in a blessed situation where my boss has yet to tell me ‘no’ on things that I’ve asked, as long as it’s within reason.”

He believes the county isn’t doing a good job of giving students options while they’re in high school to pursue these careers.

The survey, conducted by research firm Evitarus, polled 400 registered voters, 495 parents of students attending public high schools in L.A. County and 258 students. Evaritus conducted three online surveys between Nov. 20, 2023, and Jan. 21, 2024. The margin of error for registered L.A. voters was plus or minus 4.9%. The four focus groups were for South L.A. Black/African American parents; L.A. Harbor Latino high school students; L.A.Harbor Latino parents (in Spanish); and South L.A. Black/African American high school students.

To better understand policymakers’ perceptions of support for and willingness to federally fund non-degree pathways, American Student Assistance and Jobs for the Future commissioned a report, , based on a poll of a diverse and select group of 156 policy influencers working in Washington, D.C. The vast majority — 93% of those polled — agree that nondegree pathways can lead to rewarding, successful careers, and 89% believe that vocational schools, certificate programs and other options can provide students with skills that will meet employers’ needs. Moreover, 89% of those polled want legislation to help these alternative approaches expand over the next five years, and 78% want to see a boost in federal funding for them.

I believe this can and must happen, but it won’t without support from elected officials. Here are seven recommendations for policymakers to make this a reality. 

1. Expand Apprenticeship and Work-Based Learning Opportunities 

Congress must reauthorize to reflect current economic realities and employer needs, and to increase these opportunities. This includes targeting funding for the expansion of youth apprenticeships, so high school students — including those who face barriers to employment — can test out various hands-on experiences in different industries. 

2. Encourage Career Readiness as a Core Component of K-12 Accountability 

Federal policymakers should encourage and support states in adjusting their high school accountability standards and metrics by embracing career readiness as a core goal and expanding definitions of school success beyond test scores and college enrollment metrics. Skills acquisition should be core to K-12 education.

3. Strengthen Student Supports
   Policymakers should provide guidance, technical assistance and funding to high schools to help every student develop a career path before graduation. This should include expanded use of technology-enabled career navigation tools and counselors who can provide information students need to make informed choices about the path that’s right for them.
4. Improve Career Navigation and Access to Data 

Legislative policy should encourage the expansion of career navigation services so they are available to all young people. There is also a need for transparent data systems that encourage sharing across platforms and provide easy-to-understand information on the quality of education and training programs.

5. Increase Investment in Nondegree Pathways

Federal funding should be allocated to create more awareness and acceptance of nondegree pathways. These include vocational schools that allow young people to thrive in jobs such as in manufacturing and skilled trades that keep the economy running.

6. Invest in Grants to Spur Innovation 

The federal government should create a grants program to incentivize innovative strategies around non-degree pathways, evaluate their effectiveness and communicate best practices that best support both student success and employer needs.

7. Promote Skills Building 

Policymakers should ensure that all federal laws impacting youth, older adolescents and adults stress the importance of continued skills-building. The secretaries of education, labor and commerce must work together to ensure the federal government plays a strong and coordinated role in building the future workforce and spurring employers to take action. 

To ensure that all Americans have equitable opportunities and economic mobility, good-paying jobs and financial stability, lawmakers must craft and adopt policies that champion postsecondary pathways as diverse as the workers who make up America’s 21st century workforce. Today, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to navigating the education-to-career pathway. College has become the country’s default, but students need to be aware of all viable pathways to success. It is incumbent upon legislators, educators, employers, parents and students themselves to embrace and support an array of career options that will bring all young people success.

That might seem like an innocuous statement, but states are struggling to define those pathways in equally rigorous ways. Moreover, a lack of reliable data on who actually serves in the military means that it’s being left out as a successful post-high school outcome. 

Let’s start with the college track because it’s the largest and easiest to define. About two-thirds of high school graduates go into some form of postsecondary education. That number is down slightly in recent years, but states have built sophisticated data systems to track public school students from K-12 into higher education. If students go to a private school or leave the state, a nonprofit called the National Student Clearinghouse has data on 99% of postsecondary students nationwide. That data allows any state or school district in the country to find out, for a nominal fee, how many of their students enroll and persist through higher education.

In contrast, it’s harder to define a successful outcome on the career side. More than half the states are now counting whether high school students earn “industry recognized credentials.” This is admirable work, but states are struggling to balance encouraging students to follow a wide variety of pathways on one hand, while also ensuring that all of those options are equally rigorous. State lists of allowable credentials routinely run into the hundreds, and a 2020 found that the most common credential students earn was “Microsoft Office Specialist.” That report concluded, “many of the credentials earned by K-12 students carry little currency with employers, and therefore offer questionable career value to students.” 

This lack of rigor shows up in depressingly small income gains. For example, by Matt Giani at the University of Texas found that students who earned a credential had somewhat higher employment rates, but the median earnings of recent high school graduates with a credential was barely over $10,000 a year. A out of Florida found that, five years after high school graduation, those who had completed a certificate earned about $600 more than those without one. 

Contrast the situation on the career side with military service. Military service is not only a noble career, it’s also a strong pathway into the middle class. And yet, states don’t have a good way to get accurate counts of which students serve in the military. 

Upon the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, 10 states said they were planning to use military service as one of their indicators of student success. Unfortunately, without a good way to collect that data, they were forced to remove military service as a success indicator, treat it as an optional measure for some schools, or fall back on self-reported data, effectively putting the burden of proof of military service on individual schools and districts. 

To address this problem, a number of state education chiefs are working behind the scenes to ask the Department of Defense (DoD) for help in solving this data challenge. (Disclosure: I’ve been helping the states craft that request.) 

This is not just a wonky data issue, because the military stands to gain from a secure but accurate data-sharing process as well. If military service counted as a successful pathway for students, that might indirectly help the armed services meet their recruitment goals. 

To be sure, this is delicate ground. If states begin working with the DoD to solve this data challenge, there are questions about data security and concerns about not promoting the military above other potential pathways. And students need to be protected from receiving unwanted recruiting pitches. At the same time, this issue needs to be resolved in order to recognize military service as a successful outcome for students who do choose to serve. 

This isn’t the first such effort to track military service. Many states have tried to get this type of data in the past, only to be stymied by technical or bureaucratic obstacles. But there’s widespread interest in solving this problem and putting military service on par with other post-high school pathways.

Research spanning several decades has shown that the seeds of opportunity are planted as early as elementary school. shapes students’ career aspirations and trajectories, while strong youth-adult relationships drive and . When students enter the job market, personal networks open doors to resources, opportunities and promotions. Studies suggest that approximately are obtained through personal connections, and having at least one connection at a company on LinkedIn makes an applicant to land a job than those who don’t. In short, mounting loneliness today widens long-standing opportunity gaps tomorrow. 

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What will it take for schools and programs to invest in students’ relationships as both sources of belonging and bridges to opportunity? To answer this question, our team at the Christensen Institute conducted an 18-month of 20 career-connected learning programs. We sought to understand key factors that impacted schools’ and nonprofits’ ability to deepen and diversify students’ social capital — that is, access to relationships and the ability to cultivate them. Here are three lessons that can help schools and career-connected learning programs unlock the power of relationships.

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Use what you’ve got

Many educators lack the time and resources to develop networking activities from scratch. The good news is that schools are awash in relationships. Educators can double down on deepening those connections through activities that students are already engaged in. For example, rather than a typical guest speaker format in which an industry professional delivers a pre-prepared speech, speakers can engage in a dialogue where students talk about themselves and their career aspirations. Teachers can then create opportunities for students to get back in touch by re-engaging guest speakers on future projects or lessons where their expertise is relevant. In fact, found that teens who engaged in career-oriented conversations with industry professionals earned higher-than-expected wages at age 26. For students participating in internships or apprenticeships, educators can use role-playing exercises to help them develop deeper, more enduring relationships with worksite supervisors and colleagues.

Take, for example, EmployIndy, an Indiana-based nonprofit offering apprenticeship programs for high schoolers. To broaden students’ networks, EmployIndy leaders asked mentors who work directly with student apprentices to incorporate discussions about professional relationships into their regular check-ins. They also created a competition to motivate students to start creating professional networks and encouraged employer-based supervisors to help students build social capital in the workplace. These types of strategies are an easy lift, but powerful in tapping latent reservoirs of opportunity. 

Prioritize experience over explanation

Simply teaching students about the power of networks as a concept won’t cut it. Social capital needs to be part of their everyday experience. When Kupu, a Hawaii natural resources nonprofit, presented a slideshow to help students understand the research behind social capital, the initial response was underwhelming. Student surveys revealed that engagement with those lessons paled in comparison to out-of-classroom experiences such as college and worksite field trips.

Kupu pivoted to integrate opportunities for relationship-building into worksite visits by creating time for interaction with professionals. To build students’ confidence ahead of time, Kupu created opportunities for practice career chats. After the visits, students were asked to reach back out to at least two people for more in-depth conversations about their interests. That experience proved fruitful: 83% of students reported feeling very confident in their ability to follow up with new acquaintances to talk about careers.

Pair skill-building with access to relationships

Building social capital hinges on the ability of schools and programs to play two distinct roles: brokering access to relationships and building students’ relationship skills. However, some teachers found that providing access before honing students’ communication skills diminished their confidence in building new connections.

Generation Schools Network, a Colorado nonprofit focused on community- and career-connected learning, aimed to reduce students’ fears about having conversations with adults they hadn’t met before. They gave middle and high school teachers a series of interactive and engaging communication lessons involving role-playing scenarios, opportunities to practice with peers and trusted adults, and dialogue with students around the anxiety inherent in talking with people they don’t know. Teachers used these activities to prepare students for a project in which they collaborated with local businesses to solve complex problems such as food insecurity and wildlife conservation. Follow-up surveys revealed that 87% of teachers reported that the activities increased students’ communication skills and confidence when talking with businesspeople.

Balancing access and skills is crucial for building and maintaining students’ confidence as they begin to develop professional networks. To unlock students’ potential, schools and programs must not only provide access to connections, but empower them to use those opportunities effectively. Strong networks are a buffer against the inevitable twists and turns of life and career.

The Indiana Commission for Higher Education’s most recent shows the number of Hoosiers pursuing a college degree or workforce certification fell from 65% in 2015 to 53% in 2020. In March 2021, the U.S. economy added 916,000 jobs, but the Bureau of Labor Statistics less than 1% of those jobs were for workers with only a high school diploma. In a post-pandemic economy, this massive job growth indicates the kind of employees job creators are looking for moving forward. Unfortunately, this means nearly half of Indiana’s high school graduates are competing for an extremely small pool of new jobs. 

To help address this challenge, Indiana expanded work-based learning, apprenticeship and internship opportunities for high school students this year by creating . These accounts are available to every student beginning in their sophomore year of high school. Students participating in qualifying programs can apply for $5,000 each year to pay for career training courses, enroll in earn-and-learn opportunities and cover the costs of items like transportation to and from work sites, uniforms, tools and certification exams. The goal is to have 1,000 students participating throughout the 2023-24 school year.

To ensure these opportunities are widely available, schools and local businesses are encouraged to partner up, so students can take classes and participate in internships and apprenticeships throughout the day. For example, a student could take traditional classes in the morning and then intern at a local business in the afternoon, learning skills like welding, construction or nursing. Participants will graduate not only with a high school diploma, but with a workforce certification.

Indiana is not starting from scratch when it comes to developing partnerships and providing high schoolers with these opportunities. Similar earn-and-learn programs have already been implemented throughout the state with great success. 

connects job seekers to open positions and makes available resources on how to apply for a job or internship. In Indianapolis, partners with local schools, , the mayor’s office and nonprofit organizations to provide career services to individuals aged 16 to 24. Through EmployIndy, students can participate in paid, hands-on apprenticeships that complement schoolwork, such as junior coder, IT support tech and medical assistant. The in northern Indiana connects high school students to opportunities to earn college credit and industry-recognized credentials, and gain real-world experience before graduation through work-based learning programs.

These organizations and others are instrumental in preparing Hoosiers for the workforce, and Career Scholarship Accounts will increase the number of students able to jump-start their career. The Indiana Commission for Higher Education will vet and approve the businesses and career centers providing these opportunities.

Many students are not on the best path to earn the correct degree for their chosen career. The law that created the accounts also calls for high school juniors and seniors, and most college freshmen, to meet with an employer, labor organization or similar entity for 30 minutes to discuss their career goals and understand the education level necessary to achieve them. This is one of the most impactful parts of this law because these meetings not only provide invaluable career advice, but they help young adults make meaningful connections and begin to grow their professional network. 

To help students fulfill the meeting requirement, the law establishes a comprehensive career navigation and coaching system through the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. Traditional public and charter high schools must also host at least one career fair each year.

In a larger effort to make high school more relevant, the Indiana Department of Education recently outlined a to “rethink the high school experience.” It focuses on three key areas: making high school diploma requirements more flexible and relevant to students, employers and communities; improving access to high-quality work-based learning opportunities; and increasing access to high-value postsecondary credentials. These combined efforts will help better prepare students to confidently choose a career and apply for a job.

Indiana’s efforts to skill up and prepare Hoosiers for high-paying, in-demand jobs is critical to keeping the state’s economy on the right track. Expanding the state’s focus to support high school students will help young adults begin their postsecondary career ahead of the curve and prepared to fill these open job positions.  

For example, 39 million Americans have a traditional degree program, leaving them little chance to recoup their investment. Only half of students who began a four-year degree in 2012 at the same school. Despite progress in recent decades, large disparities in completion rates remain based on and .

Even those who earn a degree may not get the value they’re expecting. found that 25% of bachelor’s degree programs took more than 10 years to pay back their net cost to students — and even worse, 10% never broke even. Because few schools make this information easily available, most students do not know their odds when choosing where to enroll.

The financial consequences of betting wrong can be devastating. Americans hold a combined $1.76 trillion in college debt. An estimated $280 billion belongs to individuals who didn’t finish the postsecondary pathway they started, whether it was a traditional degree or one of the growing number of non-degree options. within five years of dropping out — and neither did 33% of students who did complete their program. That debt burden disproportionately affects and students.

This is not to say that traditional higher education lacks value. But that value isn’t distributed consistently, equitably or transparently — a fundamental problem that gets lost amid the intense focus on cost and debt. The postsecondary system must do a better job of equipping people to make informed choices that fit their life goals and circumstances.

That power of choice is the foundation of , our newest Beta by Bellwether initiative. We are working with a diverse group of stakeholders to explore how three enablers of choice — information, navigation and options — can be levers for transforming education beyond K-12.

Information: Anyone pursuing education after high school needs clear, timely, accessible, customizable, comparable and credible information that helps answer the questions “What do I want to be?” and “Which path will best help me succeed in that pursuit?” We have identified 10 specific elements of information that people need to exercise their power of choice. These include tools and opportunities that help them understand their strengths and interests, learn about a broad range of professional possibilities and understand the requirements and advancement opportunities in specific professions. It also includes details about programs that could prepare them for their chosen pursuit: admission requirements, true cost, completion rates and the likelihood of seeing the expected return. 

Much of this information already exists, but it’s rarely brought together in a timely, easy-to-use form. This lack of transparency is a choice made by postsecondary institutions — the problem isn’t data science so much as political science. Leaders need to summon the political will to ensure the public can access relevant information to drive choice, performance and accountability.

Navigation: Many individuals find simply having information is not sufficient for choosing a degree or credential program. Navigating such a complex system requires a network of social capital that people with privilege commonly have and those from systemically marginalized communities often lack: trusted, informed and unbiased advisers to support them in making choices. The messenger can be as important as the message; without the right messenger, critical information might never be delivered or misunderstood.

This navigation support can come from parents and family, peers, teachers, dedicated advisers, community leaders and people in prominent and influential roles in society. It can even come from examples shared by strangers who inspire and inform. Technology can play an important part in extending the reach of these navigators — and a growing number of platforms already provide support directly to students and equip navigators with the information they need.

Options: Meaningful choice also requires versatile, inclusive, high-quality pathway options. People need opportunities to advance professionally and personally throughout their lives — not just right after high school — as their interests, goals and circumstances evolve. The number and variety of postsecondary options is already growing rapidly: , with a net growth of 109,000 that year alone. Only 234,000 of these were traditional degree programs, with the remaining 843,000 representing options such as credentials, certificates, badges, assessments, apprenticeships, licenses and work portfolios.

Some of these newer options are tailored for specific populations, such as people already in the workforce who haven’t yet earned a degree or credential. Some focus on specific approaches, such as on-the-job training. Many offer an increasingly necessary way for people to advance or change their career as technology and the labor market shift the nature of their work. However, this proliferation of new options heightens the importance of helping individuals find the ones that provide real value: 42% of nondegree programs in Third Way’s analysis didn’t increase participants’ earnings enough for them to recoup the net cost.

These three enablers of choice, working well and working together, cannot address every challenge the postsecondary system faces today. But they represent a dramatic improvement. By prioritizing them, leaders and policymakers can help ensure that more Americans can pursue education beyond K-12 knowing it’s a wise choice rather than the current game of chance.

Disclosure: Andy Rotherham co-founded Bellwether Education Partners. He sits on The 74’s board of directors.

In response, state and community leaders and educators are working to ensure that schools provide a path to upward economic mobility. This includes concentrated efforts to make it easier for students to get on a fast track to credentials that can help them land good jobs. 

Last year, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funded a nine-month design program to find ways to give more Black, Hispanic and low-income teens a path to a valuable credential and early career success within one year after high school graduation. Collectively, the 12 teams over 40 pathways in more than a dozen growing industries — including health care, computer science, advanced manufacturing and education — with the potential to serve tens of thousands of diverse students, many of whom would otherwise not be on a clear path to college and career after high school.

These effective accelerated pathways are aligned to labor market needs and include substantial early college coursework, work-based learning opportunities, and targeted advising and support for students that continue to completion of a postsecondary credential. 

The Accelerate ED initiative demonstrates how community partners can come together to propel all students to successfully transition from high school to college to work. So what did we learn from communities as diverse as New York City and Appalachia, and their efforts to deliver valuable accelerated opportunities to more students? What should other interested communities know about and prioritize? 

Crystal-clear pathways are crucial for equity and success. Many students are dissuaded from pursuing accelerated postsecondary opportunities due to the complexities of participating; the onus is on school and community leaders to make the way forward clear for teens and their families. To that end, the Illinois design team has built that visually demonstrate the specific classes and work-based learning opportunities for students in particular career fields and how they connect to postsecondary programs and specific jobs. Similarly, after interviews with students, counselors and school leaders, the Louisiana team saw a need for a consistent, centralized dual enrollment information hub. is now creating a Dual Enrollment Playbook for counselors to help students understand and enroll in their career pathway options.           

Intermediary organizations broker essential partnerships. Designing fast-track opportunities for students requires bringing together disparate partners from K-12, higher education and the workforce. Strong third-party intermediary organizations, which can be nonprofits, community organizations or other entities, serve as a hub to build and sustain the key elements of accelerated pathways. Each Accelerate ED team was led by an intermediary organization to focus on shared data about student experiences, set common goals and provide support to put new programs in place. For example, responding to projected job openings in the region, brought together key players to expand access to information technology operations and cybersecurity pathways, including paid IT apprenticeships and career coaching services from Ivy Tech Community College, Indiana’s largest public postsecondary institution.

Real value comes from career focus and connection to growing local industries. Communities need to stay closely connected to their economies to make sure programs connect students to fulfilling, well-paying careers. The Greater Phoenix Chamber, the lead organization for Arizona’s ElevateEdAZ initiative, engaged local employers — including Able, Boeing, Honeywell, Intel and others in the — to capture companies’ input on which associate degrees, related credentials and skills are most valuable. That information was used to ensure that Arizona’s accelerated pathways in precision machining, advanced automation technologies and engineering steer students toward the most in-demand associate degrees, as well as to secure employer commitment to provide equipment, supplies and adjunct faculty to help students succeed.  

Students and families are critical partners. Accelerate ED design teams engaged directly with the families they sought to serve via interviews, surveys, focus groups and youth advisory councils to maximize student success and increase participation. The Ohio design team learned that many parents, and therefore many students, are unaware of the options at the associate degree level that lead to great jobs. This team now plans to cultivate and partner with “parent champion” messengers to build awareness of these opportunities among families.      

Have the right conditions in place to enable these opportunities to grow. Local and regional teams need to work with state leaders on policies that address key issues such as alignment of graduation and college admission requirements, transferability of college credits, and sustainable funding for dual enrollment. Recognizing the opportunity presented by a current push in the state legislature to expand dual-enrollment funding, the Massachusetts design team is working closely with legislative leaders and has set a goal of making the pilot program — through which students can earn an associate degree or 60 transferable credits toward a bachelor’s degree in one additional year at no cost to them — available statewide. 

Each of the dozen teams exited last year’s Accelerate ED design process with a plan for putting these pathways in place and strengthened partnerships in their local communities, which is critical for increasing local and state support and funding. Recently passed and proposed expansions of state funding in , and are providing momentum, and local funders in many communities are deeply engaged in these efforts.

For people interested in driving similar work in their communities, the collective efforts of the Accelerate ED teams have established a blueprint for bringing individual elements together. This is a great place to start, and communities interested in becoming a part of this work moving forward should get in touch with us to learn more.

Accelerated postsecondary pathways can provide value to all involved parties: labor market payoff for students, particularly Black and Latino students and those from low-income backgrounds, who are often furthest from accessing these types of opportunities; increased enrollment and completion for colleges; and qualified, diverse talent for employers. Now is the time to dramatically expand these efforts to help more young people navigate the path to economic success.  

Disclosure: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provides financial support to The 74.

Diane Tavenner shares with Michael Horn her excitement about a school visit she recently did in South Carolina to the Anderson Institute of Technology — which raises the question of why aren’t there more schools like what she saw?

Listen to the episode below. A full transcript follows.

Diane Tavenner: Hey, Michael.

Michael Horn: Hey, Diane. How are you?

Tavenner: Michael, I am so excited to talk with you about a school visit I recently did, and it’s just giving me so much hope for what’s possible.

Horn: All right. Well, Diane, I’m just going to be honest for the listeners out there, you don’t get that excited about school visits all that easily. Maybe like 10 years ago you did, but you’ve got a little bit more jaded and skeptical maybe. I don’t know. But this sounds curious and maybe even hopeful. And obviously we launched this podcast with the belief that the crisis of COVID could lead to the redesign of schools, and four seasons later we’re into this. We’re still waiting for that redesign. So I’m excited to hear what might be promising and what’s got you excited. Let’s dive in. Tell me about the visit.

Tavenner: All right. Wow. OK. Where to start? So I visited the Anderson Institute of Technology, or better known as AIT, which is in South Carolina. I think it’s fair to say this is a relatively rural area in the northwestern part of the state. And I’ll start by saying I know firsthand how much work it is to host visitors, and so I just am incredibly grateful to the AIT team and their students, Dr. Couch, Kelly, Cecil, Dana and Stephanie. I mean, they were amazing, Michael. They were so open and generous with their time and I just left feeling really inspired in a way, as you said, sadly, I’m a little old and crotchety now. I don’t get as excited anymore. And this one really got me fired up. So AIT is four years old. It’s literally only four years old. They launched in the fall of 2019 and yep, if you’re doing the math, that means they weren’t even open a year before COVID hit them. That was not a nice time to be launching a school.

Horn: No, not at all.

Tavenner: It’s been hard for all of us, but they don’t seem to be deterred by it and have come through it. AIT is a school where high school students from three school districts come to spend half days or full days in 18 different career pathways, and they are focused on preparing students for college and career readiness. And Michael, almost everyone says that now. So I think they’re taking it to the level that we would hope for because their learning experiences are incredibly hands-on. They ground them in solving real problems and projects.

And so this will sound familiar to folks who listen to us. They’re very real-world, and the school itself is designed to completely support these objectives. The learning spaces literally replicate real world settings like doctor’s offices and welding shops, and a state-of-the-art barn and a green room that Michael rivals that of most production studios. And that’s just to name a few of the spaces that we saw. The culture is so self-directed, they really think of it as a college or a company-like culture. It does not feel like high school and AIT is partnering with tons of local companies and businesses as well as colleges and universities. So the connections are real and present. I mean, Michael, so many people say they’re preparing students for college and career, but these folks seem to be doing so in honestly the realist way that I’ve seen.

Horn: Wow, that’s strong words from you. I mean, I’ll note that when I hear it, I think of other schools that I think of as doing a really good job on this front. Obviously, Big Picture Learning schools, a network of schools that have been doing this for a long time. They get students out into real world internships as part of their schooling experience. Very neat projects that they end up working on. I’ll say, I think of Korea where I saw the Meister Schools master and they’ll have real semiconductor plants with the former CEO of a semiconductor company leading these students, although they don’t have the choice that you’re talking about by any stretch of the imagination.

And then I think about vocational high schools near me and in New Jersey that are not maybe the voc tech that sorts based on racial characteristics or gender, let’s call it what it used to be, and actually carry some element of prestige with them. But this does sound different, and it doesn’t just sound sort of blue collar. It sounds way more diverse than that. I’ll also say, I think you’re right, there’s a lot of momentum or at least talk in this direction right now. So I’m just sort of curious what is distinguishing this from maybe other efforts around in the water right now toward being really not just the college-ready, but the career-ready? Because I think you’re right. That’s a buzz phrase. It’s a throwaway line. This sounds more serious about it. I’d love you to dig deeper.

Tavenner: Yeah, let’s start with something that I do think some people certainly do. I mean we do this to a certain degree, but I think they’ve really taken this idea that there must be a value proposition for students in everything they’re doing that’s beyond just the learning. And I don’t say that lightly because obviously the learning is important. But what I mean by that is all of these students who are engaged at AIT have dual enrollment or dual credit options with the courses they’re taking with colleges. They can get industry certifications. All of the pathways have honors credit options. There are apprenticeships and internships attached with all of these things. So there is this real life positive benefit from what they’re doing beyond the learning and the experience that comes in a valuable credential, or a certification, or a credit or something like that. Again, I think a lot of people are trying to do this, but I just found it to be true in every single pathway and at a much more greater depth than what I often see in places who are trying to do that. So that’s one.

The second one, I just want to, you touched on it, but we should go back to it is, this is not the voc ed that everyone’s afraid of. So a lot of people really fear this direction because of this long history we have of just really tracking students and really what we would call dead end or closed door experiences that they had in traditional voc ed. This place is fascinating because every single pathway is explicit about what you can do if you do this work in high school and don’t go on, what you can do with an associate’s degree and what you can do with a bachelor’s degree and in some cases hire post bachelor’s degrees and the pathways and the job prospects. They’re really explicit about what the careers are, the salary ranges for those. It’s on the wall. It is literally in all the catalogs. It’s super clear.

I mean, just as an example, there’s an electrical design and integrated smart systems pathway, and I love this one because so many people always use their electrician or plumber as the example of why do we not go into career? Because our plumbers are making a $100,000 a year, and according to the catalog and the center of this particular pathway coming out of high school, you can become an electrician’s helper or an apprentice at about a $46,000 a year income, which is pretty phenomenal, especially for that part of the country. An associate’s degree opens the door for an electrical technician, a controls technician, a smart system network technician. Now we’re talking $78,000 range. And a bachelor’s you can be an electrical engineer, a project manager, engineering maintenance management in the $90,000 range. And it’s all laid out here for every single one of the pathways and the steps you need to take and the type of things you’ll be doing. 

We talk a lot about “ings,” Michael, and they actually speak to those here, like helping kids explore and discover what they’re interested in.

Horn: Very cool. Very cool. Keep telling me more. I’m just sort of curious. So there’s these pathways, they mark this out. What’s the rigor like? How are they embedding these experiences to really make sure it’s creating that optionality, that mastering the “ings” gives you and not perhaps sorting you into a pathway?

Tavenner: Totally true, and I think one of the interesting things here is I don’t think I’ve seen this many pathways. I mean 18 different pathways and they are ranging from the electrical one I just told you about to digital art and design, a few in the health sciences and the biomedical sciences, pre-med. We met with a bunch of kids who really are on that pathway. Cybersecurity, network fundamentals, computer science, aerospace engineering. I mean, they literally have flight simulators in this place where they’re practicing flight simulation. Also, Michael tractor simulators. I didn’t know there was such a thing, but you really have to learn how to drive a tractor and so there’s simulators for that.

Horn: That’s awesome.

Tavenner: Yeah, and I just found in talking with the students is, they were very wide-eyed about the prospects and the pathways and just really clear, it was clear to me that they really are being exposed and exploring what the possibilities are. And I met some who’ve changed pathways. They got in there, they tested something out, they learned about another one while they were in the building that was more attractive and flipped over. So I think that’s all great. The question about rigor always comes up. I find it, I think it’s really fascinating what happens to teenagers when adults signal their trust and belief in them. And so just the space of it is so professional, it’s so clear that they’re working with the machines and the technology that are present in the industry. They’re being taught by industry people who are super carefully selected for the right mindset about how this teaching happens, very hands-on, very self-directed, and then just this problem solving orientation.

So I love this particular experience we had there. We got to see a group presentation by one of the networking, it’s a small group in the networking pathway, and they had observed this problem that their teachers were having, which was because the students come from multiple different high schools, the teachers had to open up PowerSchool for each different high school in order to take attendance. You and I would appreciate this, but I was like, wow, you guys noticed that and you appreciate that? And they’re like, this was really not efficient. It was hard for the teacher to try to manage. They had all these instances of PowerSchool up. So they decided to try to solve that problem. They went and noticed that there are these thumbprint scanners that are used across the building because a lot of these pathways require you to log hours in order to get the industry certification. So that’s apparently how they do it. It’s a whole other conversation, Michael, I can see your face,

Horn: Yeah, we don’t have to go there right now. Yeah.

Tavenner: But anyway, they notice these fingerprint scanners and they’re like, why can’t we use that for attendance purposes? So they are going about solving this problem, and they’re doing it by connecting with the company who does the fingerprint thing and potentially PowerSchool. And they realize there needs to be a connector in between. All of that to say, usually what I find in programs like this is in that instance, they would be trying to teach those kids to be entrepreneurs and build a bazillion dollar company. Right. It wasn’t a bazillion dollar company, I don’t think it is. I think it’s a really real problem that they were being super creative about how to solve in a very cost effective, very partnership oriented way that had appropriate rigor for where they are in their lives right now. And so it was stuff like that, that just, I was like yeah that’s what it should be like.

Horn: That’s incredible. That’s incredible. How do the students think about sort of the athletics or maybe some of the typical trappings of a high school?

Tavenner: This is one of the many smart things that this design has enabled is, they’ve really dodged those questions Michael. All of these students belong to a home high school that is comprehensive in nature. As I understand it, it really, they all have football, they all have cheerleading. And so AIT doesn’t have to worry about those things. They are really focused on what they’re doing. The students have connections in both places. What I found fascinating is, I talked to a lot of seniors who, having had a couple of years experience here, had worked it so that they could spend the whole day at AIT. And it was such a fulfilling experience for them, and they really are enjoying the freedom. They see their pathway. They seemed less concerned about what was happening back at the home high school. And so just to, I think a reminder, we’ve talked about this often, this pressure to be comprehensive and do everything means that you don’t do anything terribly well. And so what a great way to address that issue, I think.

Horn: Yeah. That’s, wow. So OK, this is clearly something different from anything I’ve seen. I’ll say it’s comprehensive in a different way in terms of the number of pathways it has, but I love that it gives students a chance to test and learn what we’ve been talking about in this season of Class Disrupted about themselves.

Tavenner: Yes.

Horn: Where does it fit me as I start to work in this field? Do I build a passion about it? I’m not one of those people that think we automatically have a set number of passions, do I build it? It’s just not landing and I want to try something else. Great. And it also, I didn’t realize this when you started it, it sounds like students are able to enroll part-time, still be part of their home high school, which is very unique, I think. And I will say again, though it does feel like something is starting to bubble in this general space, Diane, so maybe we’re going to see a lot more of these. I don’t know. What do you think?

Tavenner: Well, that’s the part that started to get to me while I was on this visit. As you might imagine Michael, I had a lot of questions about that, like why aren’t more people doing this and where did this come about? And so I do think it’s important to just talk a little bit about the leader of the school and the man who founded it, Dr. Couch, because he appears to be a bit of a unicorn to me, Michael, and this might be why we’re not seeing more of these. He was a successful educator with sort of a good career. He then goes to the Department of Education in South Carolina. He spends 20 years there. This is where he learned about these models. He actually led a delegation that went to Europe and looked at models that are largely the inspiration. He is the one who works on the passage of the legislation in South Carolina that creates graduate profiles and enables and encourages this type of school and learning.

And then he sits back and no one in the state is actually doing anything about that legislation. Schools aren’t opening, programs aren’t happening. And so I totally admire him. What does he do? He rolls up his sleeves, he goes back and he starts a school. That’s like this, that’s meant to take advantage of the legislation. He did that one and then felt like some of the sort of traditional regression stuff was happening that we talk about. And so he’s now moved on to do AIT. But Michael, my worry is can anyone who’s not Dr. Couch, who doesn’t know everyone in the state, who doesn’t understand the legislation inside out, who hasn’t visited Europe, who has relationships with all of these companies and community organization, can a mere mortal actually open a school like this? Because when I poked and prodded, he was pulling on that expansive history and who he is to get this done.

Horn: Super interesting. So before I come in with thoughts, I’m just sort of curious what else you think might be holding people back from doing this or what other parts of his background make him a unicorn against this context?

Tavenner: Yeah, I mean I think the other thing coming up for me is policy. And so I’ve got quite a few experiences now with different states where the state level policy makers really genuinely seem to believe that they have policies on the books or they have past policies that enable and encourage people to do things like this. And it seems like that’s what they want them to do, but then they feel frustrated because no one’s doing it. And in some cases states will say, we will give waivers for anything like this. You can get a waiver for everything, but no one’s taking advantage of that or that they’re just not using the funding that is allocated in the way they want them to. And for me, there just feels to be a real disconnect between what it actually takes on the ground and the policy makers that, and I’ve thought a lot about this and my sense is that when these policies are passed, they don’t actually clear out a bunch of the other demands and requirements.

And so there becomes this sort of net or web that you’re trying to work through as someone who’s creating one of these schools that maybe, yeah you gave me freedom over here, but you’re holding me accountable to all this stuff over here and I can’t make the two work. And it just feels very familiar to me from, it’s different, but in the charter world where, yeah when just even on credentialing, like the teachers who are in this building are from the industry. They don’t have necessarily the normal certifications and whatnot. And that just right there alone can be a huge blocker and a determinant of success or not. And there’s 100 other things along those lines.

Horn: No, that makes a ton of sense. I think it’s where I want to land this Diane, which is that my take is that innovation in the pursuit of student outcomes should be the default, not something that you have to claw your way through the regulations and unroll this and unpack that and ask for permission to do through waivers or applications. And I think shortly after you were at this visit, I was with a group of state policy makers actually, and they were talking about all the work they were doing to help districts learn about all the innovative things and pathways that they had created in state policy under waivers. And so this is stuff for personalizing learning or competency based learning or career connected learning, like you name the buzzword, right, there was a pathway and they were all boasting things like, oh, we simplified the application process or we made them aware of what they could do.

Or we reduced it from, get this one application for every single regulation you want to get around to just one application for all the regs. Or maybe one was now providing consulting support to help with the waivers on and on and on. I get the spirit of all that, but I hope folks who’ve been listening to this season have gotten the sense that when you decide to innovate or pilot, it’s a lot of freaking work. I mean, if they’ve listened to what you go through with your innovation, I don’t need to tell you that. You do it, but to ask someone on top of that, not just someone, by the way, lots of different entities with lots of different people to get permission from all these regulators and policymakers. And maybe by the way, you want these initial pilots to be done out of the limelight so the community, like, isn’t up in arms about that one thing you’re changing or whatever else.

So having to apply actively on top of all the time and money and so forth, and the uncertainty of the process, it just creates so many more opportunities for it to backfire that I think it just, it’s crazy that we think that a waiver process is going to stimulate innovation. I think that’s the bottom line is that innovation shouldn’t be a permission issue. It should be the default in the pursuit of student outcomes. And I’ll just say one more thing because I heard this as well a lot of the conference, which is that there’s a lot of folks in the innovation world quote, unquote who will often imply that innovation is at odds with outcomes and such. I will just say very clearly, it is not innovative unless you are helping students or the stakeholder you’re serving make progress, period. End of the thought.

Tavenner: Michael, I couldn’t agree with you more. And having looked at the waiver processes in multiple states and chosen never to go down those pathways and you know we’re very aggressive and we’re well resourced and we can do that, it doesn’t seem like a viable pathway. And I think I would just suggest as evidence to that, and maybe I’ll leave it here, but it was so telling to me when I asked Dr. Couch, “Who are your peers? Who do you talk to? Who do you get inspiration from? Who do you work with across the… Who?” And he paused for a long time and he finally said, “Well, I visited High Tech High once. I visited Thomas Jefferson in Virginia.” And then he just had nothing more to say. And I said, “So you don’t have people you’re talking with or working with or engaging with regularly.” And he just shook his head.

And what I will say, Michael, is as someone who sort of in the space of innovating in schools and whatnot, I felt very connected to that feeling of just kind of being alone in the work and no one else is doing it. And like you said, sometimes you want it to be that way because when people know about it, there’s often a negative reaction. But also what a problem if we have such, I mean, education is a massive industry in 50 states, and the educators aren’t taking advantage of these waivers, whatever we’re doing is not incentivizing innovation and there’s not even enough of them to be connected or talking to each other, it just doesn’t suggest there’s a lot of hope there. So I think we’d need to be doing something different if we want folks to actually innovate.

Horn: Oh, I think let’s leave it there. Great inspirational overview of a school that you visited, AIT in South Carolina. Thanks for sharing it, Diane. And thanks again to the team for not just hosting you but also letting you share the story. And as we wrap up here, I’m just curious what you’re reading, what you’re thinking about outside of these topics?

Tavenner: Well, I’m going, you might be surprised by this one, Michael, but I’m reading by the Nobel Prize winning economist, Abhijit Banerjee. I think I just brutalized that. I apologize. And Esther Duflo. Honestly, I can’t believe that the 2024 presidential cycle already has begun. That’s all I have to say about that. But I did want to get smarter on a lot of the key challenges that our country and the world are facing. And I wanted to come at it from a different lens. And this book certainly offers that. I’m learning a ton already. It’s fascinating. So that’s what I’m into. What about you?

Horn: I love that you’re diving into this, Diane, and I’m diving into fiction. I finally finished Anna Karenina.

Tavenner: Oh my gosh.

Horn: Tolstoy’s long novel that you made fun when I started it and I actually finished it. So that is my big triumph for the, probably not week, but several months, shall we say, Diane.

Tavenner: Congratulations.

Horn: And with that, we’ll leave you on that hopeful note. And thank you again for joining us on Class Disrupted.

Michael B. Horn strives to create a world in which all individuals can build their passions and fulfill their potential through his writing, speaking, and work with a portfolio of education organizations. He is the author of several books, including the award-winning and the recently released . He is also the cofounder of the Clayton Christensen Institute, a nonprofit think tank.

Diane Tavenner is CEO of Summit Public Schools and co-founder of the Summit Learning Program. She is a life-long educator, innovator, and the author of

This year, in a survey conducted by The Harris Poll, DQC partnered with the Kentucky Student Voice Team to ask high school students across the country about their experience with data in their pathways through K–12 education and into college and the workforce. The respondents said loud and clear that they are in the dark about their own learning. 

Just 35% reported that their school informed them of what postsecondary or career paths are available to them, and the same percentage of students reported that their school told them whether the courses they’re taking are preparing them for higher education. Fewer than half said they received the most fundamental information they need to understand whether they are achieving basic standards for success in high school, let alone to make decisions about their futures — including whether they were meeting grade-level expectations, whether they were on track to graduate or how much academic progress they had made during the year. 

Students also lack information they need — including data on outcomes for students like them at different postsecondary institutions and in various careers — to determine their options after graduation. Eighty percent of students agreed they would feel more confident about their path if they had better access to information. 

Even worse, school leaders working to support students don’t have all the information they need, either. This year, DQC also partnered with AASA, The School Superintendents Association to about how they use data. Almost all respondents (98%) said they would feel more confident in their abilities to make decisions for their district if they had better access to information. Even more telling is that 93% of superintendents have started collecting new data during the pandemic; 94% of them agree that the new data is giving them useful information and insights. Despite their own efforts, one in four superintendents are still looking for greater access to data to support students, reporting that they have some of what they need to understand their district. Of those, more than half want data from their state on the outcomes of their district’s students after they leave high school. 

If the leaders working to support students don’t have the right data, how can students be expected to navigate the changing postsecondary landscape and the shifting economy? The task is clear: give students access to data about their own progress and potential pathways, and make sure they are able to use it to make decisions. 

Students need information to feel confident about their academic progress and the decisions they’re making for their futures. They need information on how they are doing in school today. And they need information about their education and workforce options and how their peers have fared on different college and career pathways. Otherwise, students are being asked to cross their fingers and hope they arrive at the best solution for their future.

To make this happen, states need to invest in their data systems so students and superintendents have access to the information they need in real time. Right now, the best information often lags, tracking how previous students did rather than how current students are actually doing. Students know exactly what they need to make important life decisions easier and these transitions more clear. It’s time for leaders to make sure they’re getting it.

by Harvard economist and his colleagues show that friendships and other relationships across socioeconomic lines experienced in places like schools and the workforce play a key role in boosting upward mobility and expanding opportunity in America.

These community-level relationships, what the researchers call social capital, produce economic connectedness, which contrasts with friending bias, or people’s tendency to stay within the social class networks they know, associating with people like themselves.

The analysis is based on 72.2 million U.S. Facebook users, representing 84% of U.S. adults, ages 25 to 44, with 21 billion friendships. It includes a where entering a zip code, high school or college shows the degree these cross-class friendships exist in communities and schools across the country.

Economic connectedness is among the strongest predictors of upward income mobility, stronger than measures like school quality, job availability, family structure or a community’s racial makeup.

For example, low-income children growing up in a neighborhood where 70% of their friends are wealthy increase their future incomes on average by 20%, similar to the effect of attending two or so years of college.

These cross-class friendships are important because of their : Through them, individuals acquire new information about things like careers and educational options, learn how to interact with new people in different settings and have other experiences that shape their aspirations and behaviors, which have a multiplier effect over time.

These friendships vary across schools, even within neighboring schools with similar socioeconomic makeups. Large high schools have fewer cross-class and more income-related groupings. So do schools with high Advanced Placement enrollment and gifted-and-talented classes.

Conversely, smaller schools generally have , or more social interaction between students from different backgrounds. Finally, colleges with greater racial diversity and larger student enrollments generally have more friending bias, or .

There are ways to reduce friending bias and increase social interactions or cross-class friendships between students. Here are three examples.

The first is from Chetty and his colleagues, who cite large high schools with diverse student bodies that assigned students to smaller, more diverse houses or groups.

The second comes from my colleague Jeff Dean, who analyzed the 214 charter high schools found in the who have friending bias scores. He found that, on average, charter schools perform better than 80% of traditional public schools on friending bias, raising questions for further research. For example, do the autonomy and community-building aspects of charter schools contribute to this? If so, are there lessons learned that district schools could emulate? Should charter school growth limits be lifted so more of these schools can be created? 

The third suggestion is inspired by comments Chetty and his colleagues make about creating new or expanding existing programs that promote cross-class interactions. I believe another promising way to promote cross-class friendships is by expanding career pathways education and training programs. These acquaint learners with employers and workforce demands, engaging students and adult mentors from diverse classes and backgrounds. This creates new social networks and information sources that can shape a young person’s downstream expectations and aspirations.

These programs weave together education, training, employment, support services and job placement. They include a wide range of models: apprenticeships and internships; career and technical education; dual enrollment in high school and college; career academies; boot camps for acquiring specific knowledge or skills; and staffing, placement and other support services for job seekers.

There are state-level partnership programs in places as politically diverse as , , , , and . Other partnerships are local and feature collaborations among K-12 schools, employers and civic partners like in Atlanta; in New Orleans; Washington, D.C.’s ; , a network of 38 Catholic high schools in 24 states; and and in Los Angeles County, awarding associate or bachelor’s degrees through UCLA Extension and El Camino College or .

Support is provided to those creating new programs by national organizations like the , and the .

These diverse programs have five common features: an academic curriculum linked with labor market needs leading to a recognized credential and decent income; career exposure and work, including engagement with and supervision by adults; advisers helping participants make informed choices, ensuring they complete the program; a written civic compact among employers, trade associations and community partners; and supportive local, state and federal policies that make these programs possible.

These initiatives are different from the old high school vocational education that tracked students into occupations based on family backgrounds and other demographic characteristics. They foster by offering individuals many pathways to work, career and successful lives.

The pathways approach helps students develop a practical sense of what it means to work in a specific job — an — and a more general sense of their values, personalities and abilities, or . It also can yield routes to jobs and careers.

The bottom line is that there’s no replacement for the education system’s important face-to-face role in nurturing cross-class friendships and professional connections.  

That’s a welcome back-to-school message.

Disclosure: Walton Family Foundation provides financial support to The 74.

That’s why American Student Assistance, alongside several other leading philanthropies, helped create the – a funding initiative designed to spark innovative learning models that provide students with career exposure, exploration and the real-world experiences they need to make informed decisions about their future. 

Recently, the Catalyze Challenge announced spanning 18 states, all focused on bold ideas to create concrete change in what education looks like in their communities now and for years to come. From equipping students with the skills to identify and address challenges in their neighborhoods to creating real-world training programs, the winners are bridging the gap between classroom and career, and sparking young people’s journeys to economic opportunity. This year’s winners will receive up to $500,000, totalling over $5 million in funding this year and $10 million to date across 33 states.

While this year’s Catalyze Challenge winners focus on different themes, all were selected with an eye toward building career skills while supporting students’ unique needs. One new grantee, the ’s “Building Career Pathways for Native Students,” aims to increase opportunities for citizens of three Native nations in Wisconsin and address the housing crisis in these communities. Rural students learn skills required for careers in the construction industry and gain an opportunity to earn industry-recognized certifications while still in high school.

A similar model out of New Orleans, , provides high school students of color with apprenticeships in which they complete construction projects while earning hourly pay and school credit, gaining critical job skills and accruing scholarship funding to pursue additional education opportunities. With support from the Catalyze Challenge, UnCommon Construction plans to add a New Orleans-based campus and new subsidiaries in satellite locations across the country, and is expanding into a three-tiered model in which apprentices can progress in skill level by participating in increasingly rigorous and complex projects, such as home repairs for clients or creative design builds.

Another winner, , is a Brooklyn-based organization focused on youth leadership and community well-being. It is positioning young people to identify challenges, from gentrification to incarceration, facing their community in New York. Last year, the institute launched the Young People’s Leadership Cooperative, which supports youth in building the necessary relationships to take responsibility for their neighborhoods and address issues most relevant to their lives. By developing local leaders, Catalyze Challenge winners like Ella Baker Institute are ensuring that change within communities is being led by members of the community itself. 

The provides virtual, hands-on data internships that empower women of color to build technical and leadership skills. The institute supports young women of color in data, a field historically dominated by men, by connecting interns with nonprofit organizations that need data to bring in donations, grants and funding. The institute believes this approach will help its interns to build technical skills, make important professional connections and increase representation of women of color in data science and leadership, all while serving nonprofits doing important work in communities.

To meet the country’s needs now and into the future, is addressing the critical health care worker shortage while providing young people with meaningful careers. Students in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Hawaii can enroll in Bayada’s Advance to LPN program and ABA Academy, which provide a supportive, accelerated pathway for entry-level employees to earn the credentials needed to become a registered nurse or a behavior technician without taking on student debt. Coaches and mentors support students as they care for clients in their homes.

OneInFive, designed by a leader living with bipolar disorder, will allow up to eight Indianapolis youths with mental health challenges to gain experience as paid peer supporters in their school districts. As they share their experiences with educators and learn to solve real-time challenges, they will work towards certification as a peer mental health recovery specialist, improving outcomes for the 20% of youth most impacted by a lack of affordable mental health care. 

Families want available for their children after they finish high school, and want greater exposure to work experience and professional mentorship. With a generation hungry for change, there’s never been a better time to rethink an education-to-career pathway system that works for everyone. That’s what the is all about.