Beefing Up Career and Technical Education in High Schools

From the Marshall Memo #432

(Originally titled “Pathways to Prosperity”)

In this Educational Leadership article, Harvard researcher William Symonds decries American schools’ narrow focus on getting students into four-year colleges. He believes this is why we have such a low rate of college success (only 40 percent of students earn an associate’s or bachelor’s degree by 27) and why so few young people are ready for success in the workplace. “We are leaving millions of young adults behind,” he says. “If we don’t alter our approach, these young adults are in danger of becoming a wasted generation.”

Symonds believes the 2011 Pathways to Prosperity report (of which he was a co-author) is a blueprint for a more promising approach. It includes: (a) offering high-school students multiple pathways to success; (b) engaging employers in preparing young people for success through career counseling and opportunities for work-based learning; and (c) creating a new social compact with young people in which educators, employers, and government pledge to improve opportunities for all youth. To make this happen, Symonds says three key changes need to occur:

• High-quality career counseling – Right now, most high-school counselors have overwhelming caseloads and can’t provide helpful career advice to students. “As a result,” says Symonds, “students are not well-informed about career options, let alone the best pathways for pursuing them. The cost of this neglect is staggering. Far too many students leave high school without a clear direction. Many end up dropping out of college or choose jobs that aren’t a good fit for their interests and abilities – a key reason many Americans are unhappy at work.” Students need to be exposed to a wide variety of options to help them explore those that are the best match. Given budget constraints, this needs to become the responsibility of teachers, outside partners, local businesses, as well as putting students in touch with interactive websites like http://www.careercruising.com. 

• Changing the culture – Symonds believes we need to move away from our “fixation” on four-year colleges and accept the fact that only about one-third of job openings require a bachelor’s-or-higher degree. “Middle-skill” jobs are plentiful (electrician, dental hygienist), requiring an associate’s or other postsecondary credential. Several European nations and 24 regional vocational technical high schools in Massachusetts have successfully pioneered having students spend half their time in career education. “Yet despite such evidence, many in the United States still demean technical education as a second-best alternative to purely academic preparation,” says Symonds. 

• Career and technical education – Far more students need access to high-quality career education. Oklahoma has a network of technology centers educating students in aircraft maintenance, surgical technology, and heavy-duty truck service. And Illinois is making curriculum and materials available on this website: http://www.illinoisworknet.com. 

“Pathways to Prosperity” by William Symonds in Educational Leadership, April 2012 (Vol. 69, #7, p. 35-39), http://www.ascd.org; Symonds is at william_symonds@gse.harvard.edu