Part 1

Written by Grey Davis

The Paradigm Shift

There is a change happening in the way young people and their parents in the United States view the purpose of education. Previous generations saw bachelor’s degrees as a means to economic achievement and a way to secure a better future than their parents. In that climate, a college prep focus in high school was coveted. From 1950 to 2010, the percentage of people in their twenties with a bachelor’s degree grew from 7.7% to 31.7% in the U.S. (Horowitz, 2018).

More recently, the proliferation of college degrees and the lack of practical application for many majors results in college graduates filling low-paying, unskilled positions or retraining for useful trades. At the same time, salaries in skilled trades are rising due to a shortage of workers in these fields. Critical skilled job hiring in the U.S. could be more than 20 times the projected annual increase in net new jobs from 2022-2032 (McKinsey and Company, 2024).

Today, a master’s degree is required to create the economic distinction that a bachelor’s once did. With the cost of higher education rising, students may find their post-college salaries do not justify the debt they’ve incurred. It is not surprising that people have begun to re-evaluate the value of a college degree.

As the paradigm for economic prosperity shifts from college degrees to useful trades, some high schools are re-evaluating their curricula. High schools that used to distinguish themselves as “college prep” are adding programs to prepare students known as the “Toolbelt Generation” for skilled jobs and trade schools. Education is at an inflection point and WELS schools need to increase awareness for new ways to support post-high school planning (Chen, 2024).

School Legal Requirements

States across the nation have enacted laws requiring school districts to provide additional support to help students develop a post-secondary plan. The state of Wisconsin passed Administrative Rule PI 26, titled Education for Employment Plans and Program, in 2015. The plan included directives for school boards to provide access to an education for employment program and to provide academic and career planning services to 6-12 students beginning in the 2017-18 school year (Wisconsin Department of Instruction, 2015).

This law is referred to as Academic and Career Planning (ACP), which is a school- or district-wide effort to bring stakeholders together to support student knowledge, explore opportunities, create a plan for the future, and learn to reassess or adjust plans accordingly. This shift moves away from a narrow approach that prepares students only for college or directly for the workforce. The ACP approach is a school-wide effort that holistically addresses each individual student’s needs and goals, with parent engagement to provide the opportunity for post-secondary success.

Graduation: From End Point to Checkpoint

Wisconsin defines Academic and Career Planning (ACP) as a student-driven process to create a vision for post-secondary success. This is done through students gaining knowledge of personal interests, exploring career options, and creating a post-secondary plan with the support of adults (Wisconsin Department of Instruction, 2016). This represented a significant shift from a traditional focus on vocational or college preparatory pathways to a more holistic life-prep approach that emphasizes readiness for college, careers, and life.

This paradigm shift was facilitated by the introduction of Career and Technical Education (CTE). CTE programs provide a multi-year sequence of courses that blend core academic knowledge with technical and occupational skills, creating clear pathways to post-secondary careers. The ACP framework, in conjunction with the CTE curriculum, equips students with essential skills for real-life experiences and careers, starting at the middle or high school level (Association for Career and Technical Education, 2023).

A crucial aspect of this approach is the integration of CTE throughout the entire school curriculum and programs, which supports the overall Academic and Career Plan.

There are two additional key shifts that took place in the last decade:

1. Career development is not the sole responsibility of the school counselor but rather a systemic whole-school effort.
2. High school graduation in the old model was the end point, whereas in ACP, high school graduation is a checkpoint.

This dynamic approach underscores a pivotal moment in education, highlighting the need for comprehensive support as students navigate their future paths (Wisconsin Department of Instruction, 2015).

Redefining Ready

The movement called Redefining Ready focuses on the fact that standardized testing or focusing only on college entrance requirements can lead to students not being fully prepared by the time they exit each grade at the secondary level. American schools have the profound responsibility to prepare students for college, career, and life.

Traditional entry requirements like test scores lack a clear picture of post-secondary readiness (Redefining Ready, 2017).

This initiative raises questions among Lutheran schools regarding the relevance of content, skills, and exit outcomes expected of their students. It also raises the expectation for secondary schools to use a strategic approach to create multiple pathways for students after high school, including two- and four-year universities, military, apprenticeships, the workforce, and, most importantly, helping students become productive Christian members of society.

Grey Davis, MS Ed (’16, ’19) serves as the director of Student Services at Wisconsin Lutheran High School.

References

Association for Career and Technical Education. (2023). Career and technical education. https://careertech.org/

Chen, T. (2024). How Gen Z is becoming the toolbelt generation. The Wall Street Journal.https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/gen-z-trades-jobs-plumbing- welding-a76b5e43

Horowitz, J. (2018). Relative education and the advantage of a college degree.

*American Sociological Review, 83*(4), 771–801. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6059650/

McKinsey & Company. (2024). Tradespeople wanted: The need for critical trade skills in the U.S. McKinsey & Company.

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/o ur-insig hts/tradespeople-wanted-the-need-for-critical-trade-skills-in-the-us

Redefining Ready. (2017). Redefining Ready. Retrieved from https://www.redefiningready.org/

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. (2015). ACP in Wisconsin. Retrieved from https://dpi.wi.gov/acp/legal

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. (2016). ACP in Wisconsin. Retrieved from https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/acp/pdf/acp_in_wisconsin.pdf