When the National Commission on Excellence in Education report came out of the printer 40 years ago, it could have easily met the same fate as almost all other publications issued by the Government Printing Office: to be immediately tucked away on a shelf and forgotten. Most of the report’s authors, a committee of 18 members primarily composed of school and college administrators, were not well-known names. If anything, the product of their work seemed a bit slight, as its page count barely exceeded several dozens.
Warning that the Nation is at Risk
However, it had something that set it apart: a controversial title: “A Nation at Risk.” And for those who were forced to open it, it became very clear that this was not the usual drivel from bureaucratic and technical officials.
The committee declared, “If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose an education system on America, it would have been regarded as an act of war.” At a time when Japanese cars were widely recognized as superior to American models, when the Germans were stealing market share from American machine tools, and when the Koreans were making advances in steel production, this was a warning that resonated broadly.
Raising Academic Standards
The committee called for raising academic standards in our schools from grade one through twelve, or we would soon be drowning in “a tidal wave of mediocrity that threatens our very future.”
These controversial paragraphs and other “public messages to the American people” captured everyone’s attention. They were published on the front page of every major newspaper and were the subject of evening news coverage. The interest in “A Nation at Risk” became so intense that around 6 million copies were distributed.
The Report’s Impact on Academic Curricula
In the wake of “A Nation at Risk,” academic curricula in most high schools became more academically demanding, with additional requirements in mathematics, science, English, and social studies. More homework was assigned and more classroom time was scheduled.
But through the introduction of these academic reforms, the report’s greatest legacy may be that it reaffirmed the notion that if not every student ends up going to college, then we have failed them – and they have failed themselves.
In particular, “A Nation at Risk” established the bachelor’s degree, as analysis from the Century Foundation states, as “more and more the gold standard for the transition from youth dependence to full independence as a worker and fully privileged citizen.”
The Impact of Bias on Populations
As a result, despite some recent and prominent criticisms of the “college for all” mentality and increasing skepticism about the “return on investment” of obtaining a college degree, we have continued to overlook those without a degree as being in a lesser position than others. In doing so, we have ignored the reality that people express their intelligence in different ways, many of which cannot be captured by how quickly they divide fractions, how adept they are at analyzing Moby Dick, or how high they score on cognitive ability tests.
The percentage of the population affected by this bias is enormous, and the costs are exceedingly high. Six in ten American adults do not have a four-year college degree, and most high school graduates today do not immediately attend college. More than two-thirds of those who start a bachelor’s program do not finish it. Yet, the “bachelor’s has become a passport not only to a good job – the kind of job that is worth doing and whose rewards have steadily increased over the past half century – but also to good health, longevity, and a thriving social life,” as Nobel Prize winner Angus Deaton writes in his new book “Economics in America: An Immigrant Economist Explores the Land of Equality.”
The data
The statistics referred to by Dayton are staggering. Among families with at least one member holding a college degree, the median income in 2019 was 24% higher than it was in 1970. But for families without a degree holder, the increase was only 4%. In 1990, wealth was divided equally between degree holders and those without degrees; today, three-quarters of the wealth is owned by those with degrees.
There are also more devastating statistics: between 1992 and 2021, the average life expectancy for a college graduate in America increased from 79 years to 83 years. However, the average life expectancy for someone without a college degree decreased, dropping from nearly 77 years to 75 years. This means that previously, degree holders could expect to live about two years longer than non-degree holders, but now they are unlikely to face their fate eight additional years.
Technical and Vocational Education
Schools say they are preparing students for college and careers, but most have set up systems and incentives that leave little doubt that only the first part of the equation truly matters. Compared to academic programs, vocational and technical education, or CTE, receives very little funding from the government – just a few cents on the dollar.
The biggest victims are high school students, many of whom are in poor areas, who find themselves unqualified for college or starting a good career. They are not academically equipped, which has been obscured in recent years by questionable grade inflation. But, thanks to the “college for all” mantra, they have not been exposed to vocational and technical education. Millions find themselves in this predicament, forced to just settle for jobs with no future or worse.
Industry is also suffering. With tens of thousands of construction, transportation, and green energy projects set to start across the United States, funded by the bipartisan infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act, some are struggling to get started due to a shortage of skilled labor. “Unless federal officials begin to narrow the funding gap between college preparation and vocational training, the construction industry will continue to struggle to find workers,” warned Stephen Sandherr, CEO of the Associated General Contractors of America.
The Real Challenge
All of this suggests that the national committee was wrong 40 years ago: the real danger for America is not that we have not done enough to raise academic performance and pave the way for everyone to attend elite colleges; rather, we have not properly supported those looking to develop interests and skills that cannot necessarily be found within the textbook.
At the same time, we have not afforded the respect and proper compensation to those who enhance their abilities through experience gained outside the boundaries of college. When companies hire, they routinely bypass those with adequate skills in favor of those with college degrees.
In short, we have created a single standard for economic and social success that too many Americans meet – and that many may never meet. The call from the Harvard University president for vocational education
Vocational and Technical Education
Coinciding with the federal government’s start in funding pre-college vocational education programs through the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917, educators expressed concerns that these categories would become “dumping grounds for problems,” as officials put it in California.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education stated in 1922, “People with a superficial knowledge of trade and industry requirements fret that anyone can become a technician,” and based on this thinking, they attempt to make vocational classes a place for “trouble-making boys and girls.”
Not
One of the most significant attempts to change things was made by James Bryant Conant, who became the president of Harvard University in 1933 but never forgot his upbringing in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston.
Conant became a leading proponent of the “comprehensive high school” – an equal stronghold aimed at providing “a good public education” for everyone while offering abundant opportunities for those who are “academically gifted,” as well as “first-rate vocational training” for those enthusiastic about moving into trades.
At the heart of Conant’s vision was the feeling that “one of the fundamental doctrines of American society is equality in all forms of honest work” – thus, those who excel in academics and those who excel in vocational fields both deserve high respect.
Key Features of Vocational and Technical Education
Conant stated in his speech at the University of California in 1940, “Our schools should care not only for the capable world, but also for the artist and the craftsman. They should nourish those who possess vision or hearing or manual skill. They should teach others who have the capacity to understand and lead their peers. The school curriculum should include programs to develop the abilities of many who possess the practical judgment in matters but have little talent or ability to learn through printed page.
Conant saw signs of tremendous progress on these matters everywhere, and looked forward to opening many avenues that lead to a variety of exciting goals.
Source: https://www.aol.com/college-failed-america-education-system-130000163.html
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