ONE GOAL: MULTIPLE PATHS

Even if we tend to forget the truism in a country characterized by both unprecedented affluence and huge disparities in income, everybody, student and non-student alike, wants the financial ability to meet basic needs: a roof over one’s head, some clothes (let’s not have a debate here about “needs” versus “wants”), and food on the table (not of the portion size which eventually brings big health bills). These are the tangible essentials, made more enjoyable by the presence of a supportive family, good friends, hopefully a special relationship, and a connection to some variant of the concept of community.

Question: Would it be advantageous to have this simple, honest imagery replace what seems to happen at present in high school guidance counselor offices when a freshman makes the required initial contact: either no message about the multiple ways to achieve a good life or a collection of words which convey the impression that it is college or bust for every student.

Why not offer the mother of all educational information spreadsheets: an array of alternative life paths and some inputs on the variables associated with each path.

This spreadsheet would have the sole purpose of providing information and guidance connected to the individual student. It would not be used to either promote a particular course of action nor to suggest that a high school freshman typically knows his exact future path. Instead the spreadsheet would be used as a reference point, perhaps with a scheduled check-in date, e.g. every six months as a freshman or sophomore, every three months as a junior and every two months as a senior.

The guidance counselor would use the student’s spreadsheet commentary to enhance the latter’s dialogue with that counselor, a marked improvement over current practice, where entirely too many students reach their senior year in high school without having had a thorough discussion about their next step.

The above combination of changes could produce a more thoughtful, smoother decision-making process, in many cases distinctly different from what is often in today’s world a stress-producing modus operandi when it comes to thinking about life after high school.

Moreover, there could be a collateral benefit of this attempt to somewhat de-stress the incremental education decision, namely a reduction in the high school drop-out rate. The proposed changes address two of these five most common reasons behind the decision to prematurely exit high school:

• An inferiority complex triggered by the message that “college is for everybody.”
• The family budget requires another wage-earner.
• Because of documentation issues, aspiration is diluted or defeated.
• Negative behavior, regardless of the reason, that brings expulsion.
• Inadequate attention given to the marketable skills (otherwise known as Career Technical Education) path to economic sustainability.

Within the category of higher education per se, in today’s environment of high tuition rates, burdensome debt levels for college graduates, and persistent underemployment of recent diploma recipients, a cooler look at the numbers is advantageous. While 70% of high school graduates pursue some type of incremental education, only 30% earn a four-year degree and 10% a two-year degree. Does it not therefore make even more sense to devote additional attention to all of the metrics of enhanced education, particularly those pertinent to the under-analyzed 60%.

These thoughts are not laid out because of economic ignorance. There is full awareness that the lifetime income benefits of greater education are substantial:

• Less than a high school diploma $900,000
• High school diploma 1,400,000
• Some college 1,600,000
• Associate’s degree 1,800,000
• Bachelor’s degree 2,400,000
• Master’s degree 2,800,000
• Doctorate 3,500,000

To put the data differently, assuming a 35-year working life, the annual economic difference between a high school drop-out and a Bachelor’s is about $40,000 before taxes, unadjusted for debt. Obviously, this is a big differential, even when debt repayment is considered.

It is less clear that the steps from high school diploma to associates degree are life-changers; a foregone positive differential of $10,000 per year before taxes could be acceptable to a person who develops a marketable skill without incurring more than a minimal amount of debt. Note that the income data above does not have a separate calculation for earnings of individuals with marketable skills not directly tied to the level of educational attainment.

There are of course other benefits associated with more education: for example, a high school drop-out is three times as likely to be unemployed as an individual with a Bachelor’s degree or more. Unemployment rates for those with an Associate’s degree or some college courses are roughly double those with a four-year degree or higher.

Bringing every macro and micro input together in a single comprehensive spreadsheet would be an informational way to move away from the “college for all” message which seems so pervasive. This tool would be relevant to the prospective next steps in every student’s life.

Better decision-making and planning should be the procedural goal of all concerned, from high school administrators to guidance counselors to parents and students.

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