The case for career-focused charter schools

Thomas B. Fordham Institute
Robert Schwartz

 

Let’s begin with some data. Fewer than 33 percent of young people succeed in attaining a four-year degree by age twenty-five. If you disaggregate by income, only about 15 percent in the bottom third of the distribution attain a degree. In the bottom quintile, it’s half that. If you look at graduation rates among those who enroll, only about 30 percent in the bottom two income quintiles complete within six years. The economic returns of “some college” (i.e., those who drop out with no degree or occupational certificate) are no different than for those with only a high school diploma.

Finally, nearly half of those young people who attain a four-year degree are struggling in this labor market: 44 percent are underemployed, working in jobs that historically have not required a four-year degree, or working part-time while seeking full time employment. Meanwhile, there is rising evidence that those with two-year technical degrees (AAS) are out-earning average young BA holders.

It’s no longer a matter only of how much education you have, but what skills you have acquired and how well they match up with what the economy requires.

While it obviously should be a critical national priority to increase the proportion of low-income kids—especially African Americans and Latinos—attaining four-year degrees, these numbers suggest that the risks of putting all our eggs in the four-year college pathway are huge. A new report tells us we now have 5.5 million 16–24 year olds who are “not in education, employment, or training” (or NEETS, as they are known in the international research). It’s time to focus on building some alternative pathways for getting most kids not only through high school, but also through to some form of postsecondary credential with value in the labor market.

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