College and Career Readiness for All?

College and career readiness for all students is one of the hot topics of educational reform in the 21st century that high school are being held accountable for. ACT defines college and career readiness "as the acquisition of knowledge and skills a student needs to enroll and succeed in credit-bearing first year courses at a post secondary institution without the need for remediation" (ACT, 2012, p. 1). 

High school students will no longer be able to graduate from high school and receive a stable paying job. According to College Completion Toolkit (2011) published by the U.S. Department of Education more than half of all new jobs in the next decade will require a post secondary certificate or degree. In addition the Georgetown University Center on Education and Workforce has projected that the nation will "produce there million fewer college graduates by 2018 than the labor market will require" (Carey, 2011, p. 49).  The U.S.Department of Education would like all states in the next ten years to focus on providing more resources in their schools that enable students to not only graduate from high school but earn a college degree. The percentage of American adults that have graduated from college has stayed at 40% for many years, 30% of these graduates have four year degrees and 10% have an associate degree (Carey, 2011). 

The biggest benefit of earning a college degree will come in the form of compensation. According to The College Board (2010) young adults who earn a Bachelors degree will earn approximately $55,700 as oppose to someone with only a high school diploma earning $33,800. The increase of college graduates will not only benefit the individual but businesses will also receive increased tax revenue (U.S. Department of Education, 2011). "Each four-year college graduate generates, on average, $5,900 more per year in state, federal, and local tax revenue than each high school graduate" (U.S. Department of Education, 2011, p. 1). 

Nay sayers believe college and career readiness for all is unfair to students because not all students want to go to college. They do not believe students that do not want to go to college should be trapped in college prep classes when they could be gaining valuable skills that would enhance their job prospects (Gewertz, 2010). However, advocates of college and career readiness believe their should be one set of graduation requirements for all students. Their philosophy is if there are different course of studies for earning a high school diploma low-income and minority students will be pushed towards the lower level paths (Holland & Farmer-Hinton, 2009). High schools that share this philosophy make earning a high school diploma equitable for all students. "All students need the option of pursuing post-secondary education or training" (Education Digest, 2010). 

Researchers  have found that half of the students that attend a post secondary institution after high school do not finish within six years. One of the reasons why students are not completing a degree program is because they are not being prepared academically and socially in middle and high school. To fix this problem high schools are changing the culture into a college going culture. Organizations such as ACT and College Board continue to provide resources for educators, specifically school counselors to start the process of building a college going culture. College Board's Guide to Creating a College Going Culture (2006) suggests the following things to be done in a school to facilitate this process:

• Develop and implement a teacher, parent, student and staff needs assessment to figure out what is needed in the school. 
• Make the school college friendly through appearance, attitude of staff, course handbook, and the counseling office. 
• Incorporate college and career readiness lessons into standard curriculum taught in the classroom. 
• Implement large scale problems such as and Advanced Placement program or AVID. 
• Collaborate with Trio programs designed to target first-generation college students or who are from disadvantaged backgrounds. 

Opportunities should also be given to the staff through professional development that make them aware of the college admissions process and provide ways they can get to know their students and help them with this process so they can not only be accepted to college, but they can graduate in four or less years (Holland & Farmer-Hinton, 2009). 

References
ACT (2012). The condition of college & career readiness 2012. Retrieved from http://www.act.org/research. 

Carey, J. (2011). College for all? The Wilson Quarterly, 35(4), 48-51. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/897108664?accountid=1141.

College Board (2006). Creating a college going culture guide. Retrieved from http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/collegeed/collegeEd-create-college-going-culture.pdf

Gerwertz, C (2010). College and the workforce:What readiness means: After years of advocacy, attention is paying off. Education Week, 29, 24-25.

Holland, N.E. & Farmer-Hinton, R. (2009). Leave no schools behind:The importance of a college culture in urban public schools. The High School Journal, 92(3), 24-43).

Ready college career ready. Retrieved from http://www.ruc2ready.com

REINVENTING THE FEDERAL ROLE IN EDUCATION: Supporting the goal of college and
career readiness for all students. (2010). The Education Digest, 75 (6), 34-43, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/218190311?accountid=11411.

United States Department of Education. (2011, March). College completion took kit. Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/college-completion/governing-win