Posted on 06/07/2012 4:31:59 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Last month the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development released data showing that college graduates generally do not regret going to college, despite lots of criticism of the value of higher education. Today the center released a new report focusing on the depressing state of America’s recent high school graduates, who seem to agree about the importance of further education.
The study reported on a survey of high school graduates of the classes of 2006-11 who do not have college degrees and are not enrolled in school full time. This group overwhelmingly believes that additional education beyond a high school diploma is required to succeed:
Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, Rutgers UniversityThe online survey was conducted between March 21 and April 2, and covered a nationally representative survey of 544 high school graduates from the classes of 2006-11 who did not have bachelor’s degrees and were not full-time students. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus five percentage points.Seven in 10 of these recent graduates said they would need more education if they were to have a successful career. Despite their belief in the value of post-secondary education, though, only 38 percent definitely planned to attend college to get more education in the next five years. Barriers included skyrocketing tuitions and family obligations.
(Excerpt) Read more at economix.blogs.nytimes.com ...
Nowadays, of course, the "value proposition" of college is eroding daily. It's all available online. The sort of person who is motivated to teach himself is a much more productive and creative person anyway. And if corporate America doesn't get that -- well, just look at corporate America. Its a disaster. And guess why?
if you want to be the "in-crowd", then yeah, you need to be in the "higher education" pecking order. But if that's the sort of thing that matters to you, you stopped reading this a long time ago.
Ask the people who have dropped out, too. Education is too precious a thing to look for on a typical college campus.
Lets not forget the economic disruption public sector unions have introduced. I discovered early on that I could make a fortune bypassing college and landing a gubmint job. Here I am 11 years later earning way more than most college grads many years my senior.
Seven in 10 of these recent graduates said they would need more education if they were to have a successful career.
___________________________
I agree with them....BUT....that additional education is not necessarily to be found on a college campus. Also, the additional education mentioned should not be *remedial* in any way. Our educational systems from first grade through high school need serious reform. Students should be strong in their understanding of the basics and they should know MUCH more about their own vocational strengths and talents before graduation. In an ideal society, students should also be seeking Divine guidance for their careers...with the help of their parents and churches.
Adults who logged a lot of airline miles as children tend to earn more than adults who never flew as children. Therefore, we should fly children around in planes.
Thomas Sowell said that, with tongue in cheek.
The NYT needs to learn the difference between causation and correlation. Or maybe they’re playing stupid.
One problem with this is that many of the people polled are in their mid-40s and older. If you attended college prior to 1990 then you got a college education when it still meant something. Now, except for a few professions (medicine and engineering, mainly) the utility of a college education is pretty close to what the utility of a high-school diploma was back in the 1920s or so.
My journalism degree came in handy when I went to work as a coal salesman.
Just one example, but it substantiates the point of the article.
College education is like any other commodity, you can have a glut of it and that’s part of our problem today. Its like saying that everyone who goes into the NAVY needs to be SEAL team 6.
Sure we need engineers, doctors, and scientists but they should be the elite of our workforce and they should be paid accordingly. The bulk of the workforce should be diggers, drillers, drivers, and builders. In fact a good bit of the tech stuff they claim requires college can be learned on the job. I’m a high school dropout who learned to program, operate and maintain robotics on the job and I became foreman as a result.
We need more apprenticeships and trade schools where students learn the specific skills for the job without all the extraneous social engineering crap. College should be reserved for those who can afford it or those who can earn philanthropist and corporate funded scholarships.
And as you pointed out, online learning presents a lot of great opportunities. I took an online extension course in graphic arts and it helps bolster my meager income. Besides, I can and do learn more all the time.
Education is too precious a thing to look for on a typical college campus.
Educate (as in ‘bring forth from within’) became indoctrinate at these institutions of higher learning!
Of course it is necessary because what happens in public high schools is not education. They don't get educated in school, but when life whacks them upside the head, they realize how important it really is.
“There are some companies that require a college degree for their entry-level management positions.”
Just as there were companies back in the 1920s that required a High School Diploma for an entry-level management position. So your statement just validates my point: A BA circa 2110=HSD circa 1920
Heck, let’s send everyone to college. Everyone has the same academic ability, no?
Fixed
didn’t finish college, nor did my husband - doing fabulously.
We have a small business, lovely family, and bright children who win every award in the book - National Merit Scholars to boot....
experiencing college is where some kids miss out, but with all the indoctrination....
one of our boys is so genuine, gregarious, and literary, he’d be perfect as a pastor, but wouldn’t dare major in Biblical Studies at the state university. That’s the sad part. Most of these old colleges began as Christian universities.
The discussion is pretty useless until you start defining what a college education is. Degressin woman’s studies, gay studies, balck studies, literature, music, humanities etc are economically NOT a college education. Graduates with these degrees have just wasted 4 years and thousands of dollars learning nothing that is useful.
Focus on the sciences, engineering, and other technical degrees and you find that a college education does help you.
Absolutely correct. There is an insane clinging to the idea of a “CAREER”. What you must have is the ability to get and keep a job to support yourself and family.
It is the “uneducated” but highly skilled tradesman of all kinds who are the ones who keep this society running. i.e. without the elevator repairman, not a building in the USA would be over 3 stories high.
Without the greasy handed auto mechanic we would still be looking down on the rear end of a horse.
What good will that “degree” in Gender Studies do when the bridge across the local river is reaching a danger point?
Go to the TECH high schools. The seniors getting a diploma on a Saturday have a job waiting for them on Monday. And many of them have been RECRUITED by SKILL seeking employers.
Scores show students aren’t ready for college
75% may need remedial classes
For many students, getting a high school diploma doesn’t mark the end of a high school education.
Three out of four graduates aren’t fully prepared for college and likely need to take at least one remedial class, according to the latest annual survey from the nonprofit testing organization ACT, which measured half of the nation’s high school seniors in English, math, reading and science proficiency.
Only 25 percent cleared all of ACT’s college preparedness benchmarks, while 75 percent likely will spend part of their freshman year brushing up on high-school-level course work. The 2011 class is best prepared for college-level English courses, with 73 percent clearing the bar in that subject. Students are most likely to need remedial classes in science and math, the report says.
Although the results are slightly better than last year — 24 percent of the 2010 graduating class met ACT’s four thresholds — the report highlights a glaring disconnect between finishing high school and being ready for the academic challenges of college.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/aug/17/scores-show-students-not-ready-college/?page=all
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