Getting the Word Out on College and Career Readiness

Most young people have big dreams and plans for their future: Ninety-two percent of seventh and eighth graders surveyed indicate that they will definitely or probably attend college, and 93 percent said there was no chance that they would drop out of high school. Unfortunately, there are big disparities between their aspirations and reality, particularly for low-income students and those who would- be first generation college goers. How can we ensure that more students' aspirations become reality?

States that have raised graduation requirements to a college and career ready level have taken an important first step. By setting expectations at an appropriately high level, they have communicated to all the importance of taking rigorous courses in order to be prepared for the real world. Having the right policies in place is critical, but then it's just as important to get the word out to students, parents and the public. And not just about what the requirements are but why they are so essential.

This is where the voices of college leaders and employers are critical. Only the postsecondary and business communities can articulate what they expect of high school graduates and what it means to be prepared for credit bearing postsecondary course work or a good job. When they talk, people listen.

One way for higher education to show that higher expectations in high school are needed is to change their policies to align with the new standards and graduation requirements in states that have raised them to the college and career readiness level. In Indiana, for example, the state's four-year institutions raised minimum admissions requirements to align with the Core 40 course of study once it became a high school graduation requirement. The two systems are now sending common signals.

In addition to policy efforts, the higher education and business community can use their bully pulpit to reinforce the importance of rigorous standards in high school. A good example of this in the business community is the State Scholars Initiative, which encourages high school students to complete a rigorous course of study very similar to what many American Diploma Project states are putting in place for all students. More recently, the American Council on Education and the Lumina Foundation launched a series of public service announcements for their KnowHow2GO campaign that challenges students to take tough classes such as Algebra II, biology and foreign language in order to be prepared for college.

Given the resources behind these and other national campaigns, they will undoubtedly make a difference. But their impact could be increased dramatically if their messages could more directly reinforce efforts in states to raise high school expectations. State education policy leaders should find ways to align their messages and leverage the resources these initiatives have to offer.

These national initiatives, however, cannot substitute for a state's own business and higher education efforts to get the word out. Leaders in these sectors need to speak out and take broader ownership of the higher expectations that states are putting in place for high school students. Without the voice of higher education and business, K-12 leaders will face an uphill battle in motivating students to aim higher and in sustaining public support for the important policies they are putting in place.