WHY SHOULD WE CARE WHETHER SCHOOL-TO-WORK CAN BE USED TO PREPARE STUDENTS FOR COLLEGE?

Throughout the near-panic about American education during the last two decades, higher education has maintained its highly regarded reputation. Much of the concern about education was generated by growing trade deficits and fears that Japanese and European schools were doing a better job in preparing the workforce. But the balance of trade in higher education was all in the favor of the United States. American colleges and universities enroll thousands of foreign students at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels each year, with the percentage of foreign students receiving degrees increasing dramatically as the level of education increases--nearly three percent of the Bachelor's degrees conferred in 1992-93 were to nonresident aliens; 12 percent of the Master's degrees; and 27 percent of the Doctor's degrees (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics 1995, Tables 256, 259, 262). Although a search for data on the number of American students who graduate from foreign universities yielded no reliable data, there is strong reason to suspect that the percentage of U.S. students enrolled in foreign universities is much lower.

Despite concern that the costs of higher education are rising too quickly, the discussion about financing rarely challenges the quality of higher education. Thus there is no sense of crisis in most of the high schools that prepare students for those universities. One of the common criticisms of American high schools--that they give students very little incentive to work hard--is not generally applied to the college-bound curriculum (Rosenbaum and Karyia 1989). The requirements for college admissions are well understood and many high school students with college aspirations work hard.

The large majority of parents believe that their children should go to college. In their report, Assignment Incomplete:The Unfinished Business of Education Reform, Public Agenda (1996) found that 83 percent of parents whose children were in primary and secondary school expected their children to go to college. In a review of school-to-work programs, researchers from Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation found that African American parents in particular saw college as the most important educational goal and they were not interested in enrolling their children in school-to-work unless they were convinced that the college option was at least kept open (Pauly, Kopp, and Haimson 1994). In general, these parents appear to have a good understanding of the realities of the labor market. A growing body of research suggests that college graduates earn much more than high school graduates--by 1990, the wage premium for a college graduate was 79 percent (Phillips 1996). Although this gap has been decreasing slightly for the last three years (in 1994, the gap decreased to 73 percent), it grew dramatically over the previous decade (Levy and Murnane 1992; Phillips 1996).

Given the reputation of U.S. colleges and the ability of many of the country's secondary schools to prepare students for those apparently high-quality institutions, why should the system be disturbed? What should parents do whose children are not enrolled in elite private and public college-prep schools but who nevertheless want those children to go to good colleges? It seems to make sense to try to emulate those elite schools. However, school-to-work programs have a difficult task in attempting to emulate elite schools given their association with vocational education, which has traditionally enrolled students who are explicitly not headed for college.

Despite having to overcome the negative stigma school-to-work has gained with its association with vocational education, there are several reasons why we should consider its potential as a preparation for college. First, the pedagogical arguments used to support school-to-work apply to all learning, not just learning for some students. (We shall discuss this issue in more detail in the following section of the report.) This suggests that the school-to-work approach can indeed improve learning even for those in apparently successful college preparatory programs. Thus even if these schools are not experiencing a crisis, significant improvements may be possible. This is certainly worth serious consideration.

Second, complacency about the college prep system is not warranted. With the exception of literacy skills, in which U.S. students appear to do well in international comparisons, even students in traditional college preparatory schools do not perform to the level of similar European students on comparable tests of academic skills (Bishop 1996, Ravitch 1995). Although there is much debate about the validity of many of the international comparisons made using standardized tests (Steinberg 1996; Berliner and Biddle 1995), experts at the National Center for Education Statistics state that "Generally the `best students' in the United States do less well on the international surveys when compared with the `best students' from other countries" when referring to science and math test scores (Medrich and Griffith 1992). Furthermore, research conducted over the past decades also suggests that students even in affluent suburban communities are decreasingly engaged with high school, as hard work and high academic achievement increasingly conflict with youth values and culture (Steinberg 1996). Given the escalating cost of higher education, improvements in the college preparation system could result in significant gains in efficiency.

Third, the high college dropout rate is one of the least discussed problems in the country's educational system. Data collected by the American College Testing Program (ACT) in 1996 indicate that more than 33 percent of all college freshmen enrolled in BA/BS programs drop out after their first year. Although college enrollment rates are at an all-time high with 70 percent of 1992 high school graduates enrolled in institutions of higher education (the majority in four-year institutions), many fail to graduate in the conventional four years. Kenneth Gray (1996) points out that among freshmen entering NCAA Division I universities in 1988, only slightly more than half (57 percent) had graduated six years later. He points to college dropout rates as high as two-thirds in states with high matriculation rates and predicts that, using aggregate graduation rates alone as an indicator, about one-half of those who enter baccalaureate education will fail. Thus, there is a tremendous amount of wheel spinning and wasted effort in college. This suggests that the current secondary school system could in fact do a much better job of preparing students for college, or perhaps help them decide to try something other than a four-year college or university. One of the central goals of the school-to-work strategy is to help students think systematically about their goals and aspirations.

Fourth, almost one-half of college students work at least part-time while in school,[7] often in low-paid unskilled jobs having nothing to do with their studies. High school programs that help students define their goals and give them some work-related skills could give young people more access to higher skill and higher paying jobs while in college. Higher pay itself benefits college students (perhaps by reducing the hours that they have to work), but more skilled jobs have an additional benefit. These jobs have a higher chance of contributing to the student's substantive education, rather than conflicting with it as low-skill jobs often do.

Fifth, there are growing complaints about the college admissions system. College admissions personnel say that the traditional admissions criteria such as GPA, credit hours, and course titles are becoming less meaningful. For example, state officials in Oregon point to "grade inflation" and a lack of comparison across schools (Oregon State System of Higher Education 1994). Students are increasingly becoming aware of ways to improve their GPA by a judicious selection of courses and instructors. Given this new way of "working the system," an impressive record does not necessarily mean that students have mastered the knowledge and skills required for college. Furthermore, it does not indicate that they have taken a challenging curriculum. GPAs are rising in Oregon at such a pace that grades are losing their meaning.[8] The growing use of admissions consultants by students applying to elite colleges complicates the evaluation of applications. Consultants can help write or edit the application essay and can plan portfolios of extracurricular activities tailored to particular colleges.

Sixth, the argument in favor of school-to-work must go beyond the claim that it is good for preparing children (usually other people's children) for work. For school-to-work to develop into a broad reform it must be seen as an equally good path to quality baccalaureate programs. Given the importance placed on colleges and the prominence of the most competitive and prestigious, any program that is perceived to close postsecondary opportunities will be considered an inferior track that is directed toward only those who cannot succeed in the traditional academic stream. Thus as long as school-to-work does not close future options for selective colleges, while benefiting the large majority of students, it would still make sense, from the point of view of society as a whole, to promote school-to-work in elite high schools. It will become an important reform if people are convinced that it is an effective educational strategy for a wide range of students of all abilities and socioeconomic backgrounds.

[7] In 1992, 47 percent of full-time college students (age 16 to 24) were employed; 26 percent were working 20 or more hours per week (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics 1994 Table 49-2). These numbers represent a steady increase since 1970 when rates were 34 percent and 14 percent, respectively.

[8] Oregon colleges are being forced to remediate 42 percent of its students in math and 27 percent in writing even though they are admitted as being fully qualified (Oregon State System of Higher Education 1994). This appears to be the case throughout the country. According to the American Council on Education, 90 percent of all private and 95 percent of all public four-year colleges schedule remedial courses. The number of students taking these courses range from 40 percent to 70 percent of entering freshmen (Gray 1996).