Life+After+High+School

= Overview: What is the best preparation? =

In the United States, Americans take many comforts for granted. Plumbing is a wonderful thing when it is working. It is always interesting to see how many times we try to use our electricity during a power outage only to realize that the electricity is still out. Fixing a vehicle requires much more than tightening a few nuts and bolts. Hunting or growing plants for food is not a necessity in order to eat. For most of us, it is convenient to purchase food at stores locally and there is no obligation to harvest our own food. We are even able to purchase or rent houses in which we do not have to build or, in some cases, maintain. Garbage removal is very simple for many of us; we put it in a dumpster provided to us and it disappears because someone else disposes of it. Disappointingly, these commonalities may all become luxuries of the past if nobody attains the skills to do these jobs. The demand for qualified candidates to carry out these jobs is high, but the supply is low which could cause the accessibility of these services to dwindle, and in turn, increase salaries for these type of workers. We may end up paying our plumber more than our doctor! These jobs do not require college educations but everyone needs to be prepared for college, or at least that is the message being sent by many high school's graduation requirements. media type="custom" key="26146666"

There once was a time when students in high school had some choice; everyone was not expected to graduate with a college-prep diploma. More and more high schools are now requiring that all students be prepared academically for college, but alternative training in high school is declining. In the past, students had the option of simply getting their G.E.D., graduating with a vocational skill and possibly a certificate in that field, a regular secondary education diploma, or earn a college-prep diploma. With new nation-wide standards emerging in the form of Common Core State Standards (CCSS), our government is pushing for all students to be college-ready. These exact standards and requirements are somehow supposed to make students career-ready too. In fact, the Common Core State Standards Initiative (2010) describes, "the Common Core, a set of clear college- and career-ready standards for kindergarten through 12th grade in English language arts/literacy and mathematics." This all sounds virtuous, but are we really preparing students for life after high school? Lee & Ready (2009) stated, “Should all students be exposed to the same academic material, or should curricula reflect students’ interests, abilities, and potential adult occupations?”

= = =Trend/Issue: = =It’s trending but it’s becoming an issue… =

The reason for education has always been to prepare children by teaching them general knowledge and the skills currently needed for life as an adult, right? This is naturally an ever changing process but the idea behind the change generally revolves around the needs of society. Theoretically, our new target as a country is to have all students college-ready and/or career-ready when they graduate. The problem with this is that college-ready and career-ready are not the same thing. As defined by the Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges (SBCTC) (2014), "College readiness is the combination of skills, knowledge, and habits of mind necessary to fully participate in college-level courses (courses at the 100 level and above) to completion."College-ready students should be ready to take non-remedial college classes with success upon graduation of high school. A typical college-prep diploma requires 4 years of English, 3 or 4 (depending on the school) years of Math consisting of Algebra I and above, at least 3 years of Science, and 3 years of Social Science. The Career Readiness Partner Council (2012) gives a lengthy but good definition in stating, "To be career ready in our ever-changing global economy requires adaptability and a commitment to lifelong learning, along with mastery of key academic, technical and workplace knowledge, skills and dispositions that vary from one career to another and change over time as a person progresses along a developmental continuum." A career-ready diploma could have different requirements than a college-prep diploma. The standard 4 years of English usually remains, only 3 years of Math should be required but pre-Algebra could be included, 3 years of Science, and 3 years of Social Science for core requirements. Added to this, would be the additional elective classes that would allow students to obtain the skills for a specific career which would be requirements under this pathway.

Yet, we are asking that all students graduate with the same requirements which means they will all take similar courses demanding mastery of the same type of standards regardless of ability. Many schools, including those in Muscogee County, Georgia, have increased and standardized their graduation requirements leaving less choice for the individual student and their path in completion of high school. The idea is to mainstream everyone with the adoption of the Common Core State Standards. In a nut shell, the idea of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is that all students across the nation be examined on “common standards” in order to be fairly compared to one another. According to the Common Core State Standards Initiative, all content areas have been impacted by CCSS through assessments and curricula change, but English language arts and Mathematics have been influenced the most due to the newly adopted standards. There are good points to the CCSS approach: students who are prone to moving around the country will have fewer gaps in their education, it is fairer to judge every student on the same standards, and rigor must increase for all students. However, these things cannot be transformed overnight.

Accountability
Adjusting to the new rigor of the standards and assessments will take time for teachers and students. Unfortunately, teachers are being held accountable to test results within the early stages of CCSS adoption and the students will be held accountable soon also. This could affect some students graduating on time because they may not be prepared for the new standards. Not all students are going to reach mastery right away and, we hope, only few will not meet standard. This is where CCSS becomes an issue.

If we set the standards too high right away, so that they are unachievable to some, we are labeling students who do not meet these standards as failures. For example, some students may never legitimately pass a math course in high school under the new CCSS but if those same students were offered vocational or technical courses and were to excel, that could allow them to obtain a job immediately or soon after high school. Currently, those students are not getting the same opportunities as college bound students. College-bound students get a diploma stating that they are college-ready since everyone, with the exception of some students with disabilities, will now graduate with a college-prep diploma.

Dropouts, debts, and jobs, oh my!
“The "Pathways to Prosperity" study by the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2011 shows that just 56 percent of college students complete four-year degrees within six years. Only 29 percent of those who start two-year degrees finish them within three years” (Carlozo, 2012). These facts are also backed by the [|National Center for Educational Statistics]. Because many students are not being prepared for the rigor of the academic work, they drop out and do not return (Carlozo, 2012). Students may not be receiving the skills in high school necessary to obtain “real world” jobs once they graduate high school. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services found that almost 60% of citizens between the ages of 18 and 29 receive some form or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) (Office of Family Assistance, 2013).

Not surprisingly, another reason assigned to why students drop out of college is cost (Carlozo, 2012). According to Laura Diamond (2011) of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, only 3 of 10 students who start college on the HOPE scholarship in Georgia will keep it throughout all of their college program. Diamond went on to report, “Students must graduate high school with a 3.0GPA to earn the HOPE scholarship and then maintain those marks in college to keep it. About half the scholarship students lose it after freshman year” (2011). College may not be the best option for all students given that this is such a commonality among students with a GPA of 3.0 or higher in Georgia. Students who actually manage to graduate college often find themselves in thousands of dollars of debt and without a job in their field of study, or worse, short of a job altogether.

Interestingly, there are many jobs currently filled by overqualified candidates. According to Vedder, Denhart, and Robe (2013), “About 48 percent of employed U.S. college graduates are in jobs that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) suggests requires less than a four-year college education.” This brings up the idea that our students may already be college-ready but may not be prepared for the current careers in our society. In another report, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data revealed 40 highest-paying jobs that do not require a 4-year college degree and they all have an annual salary of at least $58,000 (Giang, 2013). It may be better for some students to start life making money without already consuming large debt due to college loans.

Fortune cookie, anyone?
A one-size-fits-all approach to receiving a diploma may not be the best approach in tackling some of these issues. According to John Mulroy (2011), in 1997, Chicago Public Schools implemented standards and requirements for graduation similar to what is being experienced with the CCSS initiative. (Michigan, Texas, Arkansas, and Illinois, also adopted similar requirements in the early 2000s with similar results.) Chicago did not implement new curriculum so that differs when compared with what is going on in our society today, but they did increase requirements for graduation to match what many states have already implemented today: 4 years of English, 3 years of Math, 3 years of Science, and 3 years of Social Studies. The only other change that many states have adopted is 4 years of Math instead of 3 and some schools want to require 2 years of foreign language (Mulroy, 2011). These new requirements were put in place to help engage students and interest them in higher education but the negative effects are more noticeable than the positive aspects. These requirements are driving students into classes that they are not prepared for as discussed previously. As early as 2004, a team of researchers found that the reform is actually having an effect on lower-ability students as well as the upper-ability students (Mulroy, 2011). Absenteeism has been an issue with the high-performing students and the percentage of students failing Algebra has increased too (Mulroy, 2011). Although no direct causation exists, there is a correlation between the program’s initiation and the consistent climbing of the dropout rate in Chicago (Mulroy, 2011).

So, what do we do?
One approach that seems promising and would also be a compromise of the old with the new, would be the “three-tiered educational model based on student abilities” that Mulroy (2011) describes in his article. Basically, there would be a clear differentiation in the type of diploma each student would receive. Tier 1 would be inclusive of the traditional curriculum before the changes. Students would still have to pass a certain number of courses in basic subjects but would not be custom-made only to students who are going to college (Mulroy, 2011). Tier 2 would be geared towards career technical training. This level of diploma would build off of the tier 1 requirements but also include more elective requirements in their career field which would allow for a diploma denoting the extra achievements in career technical training (Mulroy, 2011). Lastly, Tier 3 would encompass the college prep curriculum. The main difference in this tier 3 proposal and what is currently being implemented all over the U.S. is that this would not be required. Therefore, only students capable of the more rigorous curriculum and work would be attempting to obtain this diploma. As with the other diplomas, special note would be made that would distinguish the college prep accomplishments of the student. It is imperative that the public education system work for as many students as possible in preparing them for adulthood. If all students graduate with the exact same skills and experiences, there will be no diversity in the job market. High school should be a launching pad for life but everyone should not be pointed in the same direction. If we only foster what is needed today, who is to say how it will affect us tomorrow?

To read a proposal focused on this wiki's topic, please download this document: =Annotated Bibliography: =

Career Readiness Partner Council. (2012). What is career readiness? Retrieved from [] The goal of this website is to encourage everyone to join together to help students become more career ready directly after high school . Carlozo, L. (2012, March 27) Why college students stop short of a degree. Retrieved from [] This article describes many anomalies taking place in education today and why many students are not finishing their college degrees.

Diamond, L. (2011, May 11). Few hold onto HOPE for whole time in college. Retrieved from [] This online article expresses the concern of growing dropout rates and scholarship loss in college.

Giang, V. (2013, December 19) 40 high-paying jobs that don't require a bachelor's degree. Retrieved from [] This article discusses options and career choices for people who may not want to go to college for various reasons.

Lee, V. & Ready, D. (2009). U.S. high school curriculum: three phases of contemporary research and reform. America's High Schools, 19(1), 138-181. [] The article can be downloaded at the website linked above and contains information concerning high school curriculum and student learning.

Mulroy, J. (2011). College or bust: replacing “college prep for all” with a three-tiered educational model based on student abilities. Family Court Review, 49(3), 657-670. This article gives background to the "college prep for all" mentality and a possible solution for the current issues that are beginning to arise.

National Governors Association Center for Best Practices. (2010). Common core state standards. Retrieved from [] This website hosts a wealth of information on the common core state standards and their implementation.

Office of Family Assistance. (2013). Characteristics and financial circumstances of TANF recipients, fiscal year 2010. Retrieved from [] This website offered many statistics and visual graphics of the statistics broken down regarding government assistance among different age groups.

Vedder, R., Denhartt, C., & Robe, J. (2013, January). Why are recent college graduates underemployed? Retrieved from [] The entire report can be downloaded via the link above and the part linked discusses labor market realities and the current economy of college graduates.

Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges. (2014, April 17). College readiness project. Retrieved from [] This website offers information on what is currently needed in colleges and confirms that too many students are taking remedial courses after graduating high school.