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Vocational Education's Future
Education News
Adult Education and Literacy
High School, Postsecondary, and Career Education
Trend Watch
Vocational Education's Future
In spite of setbacks and challenges, the American economy will continue to be dynamic. A net total of 23 million new jobs will be created in the next 10 years if the trends of the last decade continue. New job growth and retiree replacement together will produce a need for 18 million new baccalaureate degree holders by 2012, but at current college and university graduation rates, the available new college degree holders will fall 33% short of demand.
All these data and forecasts paint a relatively simple picture. The high paying jobs considered desirable by most workers can no longer be attained with even the most rigorous high school education alone. This does not spell the end for vocational education. Outstanding training does and will exist at the secondary level. But in order for vocational education to thrive and be justified, it must recognize the need for academic rigor. Only by pursuing such a strategy can vocational students maintain a level of flexibility and preparedness that will empower them to transition successfully into the workplace or into postsecondary opportunities. Vocational education will maintain its indispensable place within the larger American educational establishment. It can achieve greater integration with, and prominence within, that larger framework, if it aggressively embraces the challenge to raise the bar of academic achievement.
To prepare any student in high school in such a way as to effectively deny them potential access to these desirable, well-paying jobs would be a dereliction of our duty as educators. If our students do not choose to pursue more lucrative career tracks requiring baccalaureate degrees, their lack of desire or interest should not be fueled by their lack of adequate academic preparation. To under-prepare our students, and therefore steer them away from these high demand jobs, is to do a disservice not only to the individuals involved but also to our nation as a whole.
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Education News
U.S. Reading Results Revised
The U.S. keeps pace with other nations' reading achievement, but maintains a striking gap between our nation's best and worst readers, according to Reading for Change: Performance and Engagement Across Countries. "Reading for Change" analyzed results from the 2000 Program for International Student Assessment(PISA) by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. According to the study, reading achievement is a significant indicator for a child's success in school. The U.S. scored slightly above the mean.
U.S. Children Education Odds Fall Short
Children in South Korea, Canada, and Finland have a better chance at a good education and a lower chance of falling behind than U.S. children, according to United Nations Children's Fund's (UNICEF) Innocenti Research Centre. The Center emphasized that an achievement gap exists in all the countries they studied. Also recorded was almost 40 percent of American 8th graders were unable to use basic math in straightforward situations. The report analyzed data from the PISA and Trends in International Maths and Science Study (TIMSS).
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Adult Education and Literacy
Native vs. Nonnative Adult Education Students Differ
Highly similar scores on decoding tests do not necessarily mean people use similar decoding strategies, says a research brief by the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL). The error patterns of native and nonnative English speakers differ with error patterns of nonnative English speakers exposed to English before age 12 and after differing as well, says the study. The study claims, "As readers, the nonnative English speakers in our study more closely resemble normally developing younger readers while the native English speakers more closely resembles children with learning disabilities."
Ease College Transition for Adult Students
A new website assists teachers of adult students to format a program helping transitions to college. Collegetransition.org contains information on developing a transition program; recruiting and assessing potential candidates; and building relationships with community colleges. The site is funded by the New England Literacy Resource Center and the Nellie Mae Foundation.
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High School, Postsecondary, and Career Education
Two-year Colleges' Students Face Higher Risks
Two-year college students are less likely to leave school with a degree and more likely to leave school within their first year than students at four-year colleges, according to Short-Term Enrollment in Postsecondary Education. Departure reasons included financial reasons, jobs, done taking desired courses, and personal problems, said the study by the National Center for Education Statistics.
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Trend Watch
Earnings by Education Attainment
The average annual earnings of full-time year-round workers ages 25 to 64 according to educational attainment:
Non-high school graduate: $23,400
High school graduate: $30,400
Some college: $36,800
Associate's degree: $38,200
Bachelor's degree: $52,200
Master's degree: $62,300
Professional degree: $109,600
Doctoral degree: $89,400
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, earnings in 1999 dollars, years 1997-1999
To ask questions, provide comments, or receive email notification of the next issue, please email the Office of Vocational and Adult Education.
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Last Modified: 01/31/2008
