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'Be all you can be' works for black soldiers
Enlisting in the Army raises earnings for blacks, writes Jeff Murray, citing a new study. Army Service in the All-Volunteer Era by West...

Joanne Jacobs
Dec 9, 20221 min read
3 comments


Paid jobs put teens on career paths
Career and technical education (CTE) programs are surging across the country, but most students don't end up in those careers. In...

Joanne Jacobs
Dec 9, 20222 min read
2 comments


Future jobs: Compete with robots or design them?
Throughout my newspaper career, I asked young people about their career goals. There was a time when the high achievers wanted to be...

Joanne Jacobs
Nov 27, 20222 min read
13 comments


Reinvent high school, but how?
Fordham's 2022 Wonkathon is looking for ideas on how to reinvent high school: What policy barriers get in the way? If we all agree that...

Joanne Jacobs
Nov 13, 20221 min read
20 comments


School choice is a winner
School choice advocates did well in the midterms, writes Mike McShane, national research director of EdChoice, in Forbes. Governors Ron...

Joanne Jacobs
Nov 9, 20221 min read
1 comment


What skills does a web developer need? What about a truck mechanic?
What does it take to be a web developer or a truck mechanic or a personal-care assistant? Texas State Technical College has built a free,...

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 12, 20221 min read
2 comments


Students don't know how well they're doing or what their choices will be
Most students are "in the dark about their own learning," according to Data Quality Campaign’s new national poll of high school students,...

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 12, 20221 min read
3 comments


Why does Kalamazoo Promise work for women but not men?
The Kalamazoo Promise, which guarantees college scholarships to all graduates of the Michigan city's schools, has increased college...

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 10, 20222 min read
32 comments


'Ungrading' college
Many colleges have dropped admissions tests to promote diversity and equity: Applicants who grew up with educated (or Asian) parents and...

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 7, 20222 min read
13 comments


Drop college mandates for jobs before the next $400 billion bailout
Forgiving student loans -- if it survives a legal challenge -- is estimated to cost $400 billion to $500 billion or more. That means...

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 30, 20223 min read
10 comments


Career tech pays off in Massachusetts
Students at career-tech high schools in Massachusetts are more likely to go to college and earn more than similar students who take a...

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 21, 20222 min read
0 comments


Low-status, low-cost colleges can be a good deal for low-income students
University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley accepts more than 80 percent of applicants, most of whom come from low-income families. Thanks to...

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 8, 20222 min read
1 comment


Students go farther when they have a plan
Connor Opdahl began planning his future in eighth grade, writes David Tobenkin on The 74. Wisconsin requires students to develop an...

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 29, 20222 min read
4 comments


The Big Blur: Rethink high school, job training, college
Linking high school, work-based learning and college is an idea whose time may have come, writes Javeria Salman in the Hechinger Report....

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 29, 20222 min read
1 comment


College is an 'expensive gamble' for the artsy and the unprepared
College is seen as an "expensive gamble" by many Americans, concludes a recent Public Agenda survey. Half say college "is a questionable...

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 29, 20222 min read
11 comments


Kids just want to be 'influencers'
Generation Z, which means 16- to 25-year-olds, don't want to grow up to be doctors, lawyers, astronauts or cowboys, according to a new...

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 27, 20221 min read
5 comments


Blue-collar workers don't want to pay college loans: 'Hell no!'
Linking student loan forgiveness to jobs and skills training would have been politically savvy, writes Andrew J. Rotherham on Eduwonk....

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 25, 20222 min read
0 comments


As 'college for all' fades, schools build career pathways
"College for all" meant degrees for some, disappointment for others and $1.75 trillion in debt for 48 million borrowers. Urban school...

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 24, 20222 min read
6 comments


You can do anything (but some things better than others)
You can do anything, children are told. Dream big! But many young people don't know what careers exist in the real world or what they...

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 7, 20222 min read
7 comments


‘Every weld is a challenge’
Philadelphia schools are focusing career-tech training on preparing students to move from high school to apprenticeships and skilled...

Joanne Jacobs
Jun 17, 20221 min read
0 comments
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