Education for Thriving Careers

Most students will spend more time at work than in any other activity after graduation. If we want public education to prepare students for human thriving—the vision Kent McGuire and Matt Wilka propose in "A Democratic Vision for Public Schools"— we must prepare them to make meaningful contributions through their work and to pursue careers that leverage—and continue to advance—their full potential.

McGuire and Wilka rightly challenge a system that presently defines success through narrow, self-referential metrics: test scores, grades, graduation rates. They ask us to consider goals more longitudinally, across a lifetime. That longitudinal view necessarily includes career success—and this shouldn't be controversial. Four in five high school students say the main reasons to go to college are to get a good job and make more money. For students and their families, thriving isn't abstract.

Yet today, schools struggle to deliver on this promise. Although K-12 systems still define success by college enrollment, data suggests only 23 percent of high school graduates will finish college and get a job requiring their degree. We spend billions annually on high school career and technical education (CTE) training through the Perkins Act, yet only 18 percent of the CTE credentials students earn are actually in demand. The result: Over 7,000 CTE students per year earn Beef Quality Assurance certification, at best preparing them for low-wage, dangerous jobs in meat packing with little prospect for advancement. Meanwhile, credentials that unlock good jobs go undersupplied.

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