College & Workforce Readiness Series

Beyond Grade 12

Preparing for College and Careers

This four-part series focuses on how K-12 education prepares students for the future, with installments running monthly from March 2006 through June 2006.

School & District Management States Push to Align Policies From Pre-K to Postsecondary
Faced with stiffer economic competition and worried about the skills of their future workforces, many states are trying to connect education from preschool through postsecondary so that more students are prepared for further study, work, and citizenship.
Lynn Olson, June 20, 2006
12 min read
College & Workforce Readiness As ‘Accelerated Learning’ Booms, High School-College Divide Blurs
One indication that the lines between high schools and colleges are blurring is the growth in programs that permit students to earn college credit while still in high school.
Lynn Olson, June 20, 2006
4 min read
College & Workforce Readiness States Striving to Build Data Systems Across Education Levels
To help track whether students are being prepared for further education and work, many states are trying to connect their data systems from preschool through postsecondary education.
Lynn Olson, June 20, 2006
3 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Vocational Programs Earn Mixed Reviews, Face Academic Push
When it comes to work readiness, no topic is more debated than the place of career and technical education in high schools.
Lynn Olson, May 23, 2006
5 min read
This biotechnology academy at Minuteman Regional High School in Lexington, Mass., has been recognized for effectively combining academics and preparation for careers.
This biotechnology academy at Minuteman Regional High School in Lexington, Mass., has been recognized for effectively combining academics and preparation for careers.
File photo by Sevans/Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness Ambiguity About Preparation for Workforce Clouds Efforts to Equip Students for Future
Preparing students to succeed in the workforce is increasingly seen as a key to global competitiveness. But employers aren't sending clear-cut answers on what young people need to know and be able to do on the job.
Lynn Olson, May 23, 2006
12 min read
College & Workforce Readiness An Alternative Approach to Gauging Readiness
A coalition of small high schools in New York state is challenging the notion that using standardized tests and curricula is the best way to prepare all students for college-level work.
Lynn Olson, April 25, 2006
2 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Views Differ on Defining College Prep
One of the overarching goals of the national push to redesign high schools is increasing the number of students who graduate ready for college. Yet pinning down what people mean by “college readiness” and how to measure it is no easy task.
Lynn Olson, April 25, 2006
14 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Calif. High Schoolers Get Preview of College-Placement Test
Faced with thousands of incoming students who needed remedial classes, the California State University system launched an effort in 2001 to provide high school juniors with an early signal of whether they have the English and math skills necessary for college, and to provide help for those who don’t.
Lynn Olson, April 25, 2006
3 min read
Science Talk of U.S. Crisis in Math, Science is Largely Misplaced, Skeptics Say
Contemporary warnings about the gathering storm facing the U.S. economy are being met with some skepticism. The skeptics don't challenge the need for improving math and science education at the K-12 level, a course of action that is at the heart of most of the current proposals aimed at protecting America's competitiveness. They just wonder if it's the right solution to the wrong problem.
Debra Viadero, March 21, 2006
8 min read
School & District Management Economic Trends Fuel Push to Retool Schooling
With an urgency not seen in decades, policy leaders concerned about America’s global competitiveness and widening income gaps within U.S. society are propelling issues of academic and workforce preparation to the forefront of the nation’s education policy debates.
Lynn Olson, March 17, 2006
13 min read