Workforce and College PreparationTo: The Illinois Board of Education

Presented by: Daniel Lebowitz

“ Our nation’s long-term ability to succeed in exporting to the growing global marketplace hinges on the abilities of today’s students.” J. Willard Marriott, Jr., Chairman and CEO, Marriott International, Inc.

The need for further job training in school

High School Graduates are: • “Deficient” in the basic knowledge and skills of Writing in English,

Mathematics, and Reading Comprehension• “Deficient” in Written Communications and Critical Thinking/Problem

Solving, both of which may be dependent on basic knowledge and skills• “Deficient” in Professionalism/Work Ethic• and “Adequate” in three “very important” applied skills: Information

Technology Application, Diversity, and Teamwork/Collaboration.

P21.org

Increase in college degree attainment• In 2012, 39.4 percent of Americans between

25 and 64 had at least a two-year college degree. That was up from 38.7 percent in 2011, the largest single year gain since 2008. But Lumina is promoting a college degree attainment goal of 60 percent by 2025 and the current upward trend isn’t happening fast enough to get us there.

Kayla Calvert Mason, PBS.org

A guide to Obama’s education plan• Requirements for Students:

– Must be enrolled at least half-time– Must maintain a 2.5 GPA– Must make steady progress towards completion– Cannot have a AGI (adjusted gross income) above $200,000

• Requirements for Community Colleges:– Must offer study programs that fulfill transfer requirements to 4-year public schools or provide

occupational training programs– Must adopt evidence-based reforms to improve student outcomes

• Requirements for States:– Must opt in and supply ¼ of the necessary funds– Must commit to continue existing higher education investments– Must allocate funding based on performance, not enrollment

Stephan Dash, The Huffington Post

Countries with Free College Education•Argentina•Brazil•Ottawa - Canada

•Denmark•Germany•Greece•Finland•France

•Norway•Scotland•Slovenia•Sweden•Turkey

Oregon, 2nd state to introduce free college education• The state will spend $10 million a year to fill in the tuition

gaps that state and federal aid don’t cover.• All eligible students will receive a minimum grant of $1,000

even if their tuition fees are covered by aid. And after the grant is applied to tuition, any leftover Oregon Promise dollars can be used for transportation, books and other expenses, said officials with the state's Higher Education Coordinating Commission. The grant could also free up federal aid that students could use for other expenses.

Paul Fain, Inside Higher Ed

Opposition to the plan• “Tuition is the least of community college students’ needs. Kids will tell you that their biggest

obstacle to completing school is living expenses. They are under constant pressure to work 30-plus hours per week, and make school a second priority.”

• “I give Obama credit for trying to reduce tuition costs as a way to leave more dollars in a student’s pocket to pay the rent. It is simpler politically and administratively to provide financial support that way than by subsidizing food and lodging.”

• “Overcrowding and lack of access to class. This is largely the result of community colleges (unlike four-year schools) allowing chronically unsuccessful students to keep enrolling year after year”

• “Colleges designed to maximize course enrollment are not well designed to maximize completion of high-quality programs of study. In particular, the emphasis on low-cost enrollment has encouraged colleges to offer an array of often-disconnected courses, programs, and support services that students are expected to navigate mostly on their own.”

• “Regular students blunder through on their own with mostly bad results. More than 80 percent of students entering community college say they plan to graduate from a four-year school. Six years later, just 15 percent have done so.”

Jay Mathews, The Washington Post

More Opposition• Tennessee Senator Bob Corker “The federal government should

not impose these types of programs on states. Instead, states should be allowed to learn from each other and decide what is most effective for them.”

• “Community college is already free for most low-income students through Pell grants. If the president wants to provide further support to low-income students, why not expand the already established Pell grant program?”

• “Free tuition in itself does not necessarily lead to higher graduation rates. Student advising and further grants to cover books and living expenses could be more effective investments.”

Amanda Terkel, The Huffington Post

Think Progress Reports on Harvard Study

• “Only 56 percent of the students who enter America’s colleges and universities graduate within six years, while only 29 percent of students who enter two-year programs complete their degrees within three years”

• “The United States finished last (46 percent) for the percentage of students who completed college once they started it. That puts the United States behind Japan (89 percent), and former Soviet-bloc states such as Slovakia (63 percent) and Poland (61 percent).

Travis Waldron, Think Progress*I’m not sure why there are different statistics from the same study. They were only used to present the big picture. -DL

McGraw Hill Education

ACT Inc.

Option 2: Another year of high school

“A post-graduate year is a year beyond high school graduation, spent at an independent school. Some students will consider doing an “extra” year of high school in order to better prepare themselves for college in a number of areas. Reasons for pursuing a post-graduate year vary as does the timing of this decision. Some students know early on that they would like to pursue a post-graduate year and don’t go through the college application process at all, while others decide to consider both options. Still others go through the college application process and then realize that they are not pleased with their college options and would like another year to strengthen their candidacy for colleges. In any of these cases, the post-graduate year is a worthwhile option to consider. This “extra” year allows a student to mature socially and/or academically, provides another year of academic preparedness and time to enhance study skills and time management, perhaps another year to strengthen athletic ability to pursue a sport in college. These are all valid reasons for pursuing a post-graduate year.”Heather Johnson, Boarding School Review

Oregon already has a program• “The thinking behind the program is that currently, some 50 percent

of Oregon residents who enroll in community college don’t even make it through their first year, and that statistic doesn’t account for factors such as class, race, or whether the student is a first-generation collegiate. Meanwhile, in some schools, the 13th-grade program, according to The Oregonian, has a 75 percent success rate. So, for those of us who actually enjoy watching students succeed, the 13th grade is starting to sound less objectionable. (The participating students, for what it’s worth, don’t enjoy having to get the constant progress reports, but do report enjoying their classes.)”

• “Once they finish the 13th grade, students get that diploma and they can enter college as sophomores.”

Rebecca Schuman, Slate

How much do states spend on education?

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2015). The Condition of Education 2015 (NCES 2015-144),Public School Expenditures.

Cost per student (K12)

• Illinois: $12,288 in 2013• Oregon: $9,543 in 2013

Teacher Qualifications and Cost

Almost the same as Community Colleges• Similar salary• Similar degree requirements

Opposition in Oregon• The 13th year program cost the state of Oregon $9.5 million

last school year• Schools receive the per-student funding from the State School

Fund, nearly $7,000 last year.• “Pretty soon, if everybody did this, we’d have a K-14 system,”

said Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton. “We can’t even afford to do K-12 right.”

Taylor W. Anderson, The Bulletin

Option 3: Keep things the same

allthingsd.com

Matrix Table   

 WEIGHT

COMMUINITY COLLEGES AND TWO

YEAR PROGRAMS

EXTRA YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL

 KEEP THINGS

THE SAME

FINANCIAL COST TO ILLINOIS SHORT

TERM

15% 2 

5 

10

COST TO ILLINOIS LONG TERM

15% 5 

5 2

POLITICAL FEASIBILITY

10% 3 6 9

QUALITY OF EDUCATION

15% 7 8 4

EFFECT ON INSTITUITIONS

15% 5 7 10EMPLOYABILITY

OF RECENT GRADS20% 8 7 3

TIME TO ADOPT POLICY

10% 5 8 10TOTAL n/10 5.3 6.6 6.4

Summary• Allowing students to take an extra year of high school would be the

best option. An extra year in high school would allow students to receive coursework needed to better prepare for college, take courses that wouldn’t otherwise fit in a four year plan, allow students to have time to mature before attending college, and provide job training suitable to employers.

• To reiterate what was mentioned in the introduction, there is a need to develop a quality workforce and opportunities for recent high school graduates. Extending the option to have an additional year in high school could achieve that goal.

Daniel Lebowitz

My roommate Tyler• Extra year in Germany• Speaks a ton of languages;

German, French, Spanish, Japanese, English……

• Went on to get degrees in photography, graphic design, and German