Executive Summary

Community college student Chessy Dintruff, center, and her mother, Catalina Dintruff, meet

with an academic adviser during orientation at George Mason University, in Fairfax, Va. The

student saved money by earning an associate degree before enrolling at the university.

—Andrew Councill for Education Week

With the U.S. economic recovery inching along, shorter postsecondary paths from high school to career gain appeal

By The Editors

With the nation's economic recovery seemingly stuck in low gear, the need to better understand the link between learning and a career seems more critical than ever for high school students preparing to graduate and enter the next phase of their lives.

Most know by now that the way to earn middle-class pay is to acquire at least some postsecondary education. President Barack Obama has even made it a goal that every U.S. student have at least one year of postsecondary study. What may be less clear is exactly how much education is enough and what kind of training is needed for the occupations that graduates might choose to pursue.

However, in the drive to ensure that American students leave K-12 schools "college and career ready," the major emphasis has been on the "college" part—and...