News

By Kathy Booth

Each year, the federal government and philanthropy release funding opportunities for educators to improve outcomes for learners. Often, these resources are channeled into multiyear initiatives. Educators rally around fresh logic models, master the terminology of new frameworks, review metrics for success, and roll out innovative implementation strategies. But frequently these efforts lose traction. Rather than dig into resistance to a reform effort that has been underway for a few years, attention shifts to a new approach that has come into vogue. Therefore, it is not surprising that many practitioners feel jaded about the boom-and-bust cycle of education reform. While the specific call to action may change from case to case, the factors that cause improvement efforts to flounder are often the same. Based on our experience working within institutions on implementing systems change, the Center for Economic Mobility staff refer to these roadblocks as the Seven Deadly Sins of Education Reform.

By Kathy Booth

In the wake of news stories and polls questioning whether college is worth the cost, entities like the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching are seeking to quantify which institutions and majors provide a reasonable return on investment. While the methodology is becoming more sophisticated, the drive to identify “good majors” is not new. We are all familiar with the trope of young people arguing with their parents about wanting to pursue a passion for philosophy or music rather than a sensible degree like business. But is business really the best major to choose?

By Kathy Booth

The world of work is changing in ways that make it challenging for learners to identify career options and the most appropriate training programs to prepare them for those opportunities. For example, advances in technology and increasing specialization mean that employers are looking for both interdisciplinary skill sets and highly specific knowledge. In addition, there may be many potential pathways to emerging fields, especially for adults who have already attained relevant competencies in other contexts. Educators can help learners navigate these transitions by providing specialized knowledge of regional labor market needs, related education programs, opportunities for work-based learning that leads to job placement, and supports that help to cover the full cost of participating in training. While this type of advising has traditionally only been available in career and technical education programs, it can benefit learners across all types of education and training programs.

By Dr. Blaire Toso, PhD

Adult basic education programs—which teach foundational language and literacy skills to adults—help some of the most marginalized learners attain language, literacy, numeracy, digital literacy, and workforce training and preparation skills. Students enroll in adult basic education programs for a variety of reasons, such as to earn a high school equivalency certificate or to learn English. They may also enroll to access training that leads to employment. Regardless of their starting points, adult learners are more likely to attain a living wage if they continue their academic and training journey by transitioning to career and technical education courses and for-credit college courses.

By Thomas Torre Gibney

When it comes to designing equitable college and career readiness policies, context matters. From decades of research on inequalities in schooling, we know that students’ educational trajectories are not solely a function of individual choices. They are shaped by the classroom, school, and neighborhood conditions in which students learn. Yet, today’s students learn within highly stratified educational systems, in which racial and economic segregation is on the rise and access to rigorous curricula, high-quality postsecondary pathways, and prosperous careers remains out of reach for many. This stratification of opportunity begins early and compounds as students progress through their educational journeys. The practice of tracking students into different classes and course sequences based on their perceived abilities, for instance, can influence their subsequent access to advanced coursework, their college-going behaviors, and the types of jobs available to them.

By Kathy Booth

The COVID-19 pandemic upended education in numerous ways, making clear that issues ranging from daily attendance to college-going rates are deeply impacted by public health and economic factors. Many interest holders, including school administrators, policymakers, and community organizations, are seeking access to holistic information that could reduce barriers to educational attainment and illuminate widening equity gaps. This push for data corresponds with advances in technology that make it possible to share, combine, and store information in ways that are faster, more flexible, and secure. As a result, some states are now contemplating how to modernize their longitudinal data systems.

By Kathy Booth

Across the country, a narrative is growing that completing college isn’t necessary and that a couple of well-chosen courses can lead to jobs with strong wages. This story is gaining traction, despite decades of research that shows earning a bachelor’s degree yields stronger earnings over the course of a lifetime. One reason it may resonate is that a significant number of students do take one or two community college courses and net meaningful earning gains. However, new research from the University of Michigan shows that these “skills builder” students rarely increase their salaries enough to move up an economic rung.