Dive Brief:
- A new policy brief from a coalition of K-12 and higher education groups outlines the ways in which ESSA makes way for greater collaboration between the sectors to promote a stronger workforce.
- Because students who leave the K-12 system unprepared for college have a lower likelihood of earning a college credential and thus being able to enter into the workforce, higher education leaders have a unique opportunity at this juncture to work with K-12 leaders to "establish a common vision for the future that meets the state's economic needs."
- Each state will need to increase the number of graduates by 2% each year between now and 2025 to meet the nation's labor demand. A particular focus will need to be on underrepresented minorities, who will comprise the majority of children and students by 2025.
Dive Insight:
Building clear pathways between K-12 and higher education, and ensuring a breadth of rigorous course requirements in high school will be key to increasing the number of graduates needed to fill the workforce eight years from now. While conversations abound about whether students need a foreign language or algebra to graduate from high school, the truth is these discussions do a disservice to students who will need to be able to succeed at the next level. The better approach is setting the expectation that all students can master this content and providing adequate support via professional development to help them meet those expectations.
As conflicts arise in many state houses between discretionary funding levels of Medicaid and higher education, institutions that do the best job of asserting their value to the local, state and national economies will fare better than those that fail to convey their economic impact. The best way to defend value is to point to the number of graduates from an institution are currently working and paying taxes in the state, and stronger pipelines between K-12, higher ed and hiring companies can help.