In President Obama’s 2015 State of the Union address, he spoke sincerely about the positive effects of postsecondary education. He told the stories of Americans who’d changed their lives by earning a degree or certification and affirmed the importance of higher education to maintaining and growing middle class populations in the United States.
All students should have access to education and training beyond high school
Since 1990, the rate of students who drop out of high school has decreased from 12 to to seven percent, a success worth lauding. The rate of postsecondary education through a certificate, associate, or bachelor’s degree attainment continues to grow.
However, challenges remain to ensuring that all students have access to, and interest in, education beyond high school. Nationwide, one-third of high school graduates do not seek any form of postsecondary education. Additionally, many who do attend two or four-year schools do not complete their programs for a variety of reasons.
A new(ish) model to navigate post-secondary education options: Educational pathways
In a market that rewards degree holders with higher-paying, more reliable employment, educators have two important jobs:
Identify ways to shrink the dropout rate of students entering post-secondary programs
Work to increase the numbers of students who earn certifications or degrees
An educational pathway is a road map that help a student connect his or her interests to education and career choices. These pathways can lead some students to certificate, career or technical training. Other students plan for a two- or four-year degree program by ensuring the high school classes they choose prepare them for higher education.
35 states have implemented individual learning plan programs
Educational pathways may be key to bridging the secondary-to-postsecondary gap. Because students on an identified pathway are more likely to make the jump to higher education, many states are implementing this model. In 2014, the Colorado Department of Education reported that 35 states currently require students to have some form of individualized learning plan. In Colorado’s ICAP (Individual Career and Academic Plan) program, every high school student creates and manages his or her own educational and technical study plan.
Concurrent enrollment programs enable students to graduate from high school with college credit or workforce-ready training
An educational pathway also lets students and their parents be pragmatic about educational futures. This model allows students whose career paths do not require a college degree to take advantage of alternative options for post-secondary credits. Concurrent or dual-enrollment career training programs create an opportunity for non-degree-seeking students to get certified in areas like cosmetology, automotive repair, or certified nurse’s assistant as they finish their secondary schooling. This means students graduate from high school workforce-ready.
For students who do seek four-year degrees, secondary schools offer programs including Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or concurrent enrollment, which let students acquire a decent amount of college credit before graduating from high school. This can be an invaluable tool for cutting down on college tuition debt.
A custom plan can increase student engagement in high school
There’s also more to this approach than cold statistics. A student who has an educational pathway has identified her or his personal interests and ultimate career goals, formulating a course load based on these passions. This helps the student engage with core academic subjects through real-world problems and challenges. Having insight into his or her future career and the ability to align school work and interests can increase a students’ overall engagement.
Preventing race and income bias: The legacy of tracking in public schools
Guiding students into different education and career paths is not a new idea. According to the Atlantic, by the 1930s, most students in the United States attended public schools on one of four tracks:
General
Vocational (skilled labor such as metal work or plumbing)
Trade-oriented (office skills like typing or accounting)
College prep
Tracking systems were notorious for sorting students of color, children of immigrants and students from rural or working-class backgrounds into “lower” tracks regardless of ability. College prep was reserved for students who were mostly white and wealthy.
Are student-directed pathways a solution to unequal education access?
Contemporary students are legally protected from discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability and national origin by Title VI and Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, public education systems still struggle to provide equal access to resources and funding for all students. The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights provides oversight for education equity; in 2015, the office conducted more than 3,000 investigations into civil rights complaints.
The current literature on educational pathways lacks clearly-identified methods for preventing race and income from having undue influence on a student’s pathway. Although it remains to be seen how well individual learning plans provide equal access to education, the fact that plans are created and directed by students and their parents in partnership with educators may prevent old patterns of bias from recurring.
If current trends continue, education pathways may create a more seamless transition from high school to post-secondary education
As many higher education institutions begin to adopt guided pathways models, students experience an increasingly seamless transition from one institution to the next, further reducing the degree program drop-off and increasing comfort with post-secondary institutions for first-generation students. If current trends continue, educational pathways may emerge as the new road to success.
Monica Fuglei is a graduate of the University of Nebraska in Omaha and a current faculty member of Arapahoe Community College in Colorado, where she teaches composition and creative writing.
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"Expanding Pathways: Transforming High School Education in California," The California Center for College and Career
"Individual Career and Academic Plan Fact Sheet," Colorado Department of Education
Sonali Kohli , "Modern-Day Segregation in Public Schools," The Atlantic