Secrets of College Success

The Washington Post recently explored the secrets of college graduation success. For once, there's good news -- a recent study by the US Department of Labor shows that more students are obtaining their college degree (66% of the students tracked completed their degree -- up from 60% in the previous study.) The study also reported that students taking more intensive classes are more likely to graduate. (Was that really a surprise?) There are lots of good tidbits for those of you interested in learning more about college persistence, achievement and outcomes. I like the recommendations at the end of the Post article. (I've paraphrased.) 1. Just because you say you will continue your education after high school and earn a college credential doesn't make it happen. Wishing doesn't do it; preparation does. 2. Take the challenging course work in high school, and don't let anyone scare you away from it. If you cannot find the challenge in the school's offerings, find it online. 3. Read like crazy! Expand your language space! Don't waste precious credit hours on remedial courses in higher education. 4. The world has gone quantitative. A full range of disciplines and job tasks tells you why math requirements are not just some abstract school exercise. 5. Log on to college and community college Web sites pay attention to what to what they show you -- the assignments and examination questions given in major gateway courses you will probably take. If you do not see these indications of what to expect, push! 6. See if your nearest community college has a dual-enrollment agreement with your school system, allowing you to take significant general education or introductory occupational courses for credit while you are still in high school. 7. You are ultimately responsible for success in education. You are the principal actor. The power is yours. Seize the day -- or lose it!"

Are We Measuring What Matters?

Do traditional economic measures work in a knowledge economy? This Business Week article argues that they do not. In fact, many knowledge building investments are simply not measured. For example, in the olden days companies spent a lot of money to train people. (You had to fly people to a training facility, hire instructors, pay overhead, etc.) Now you can take classes online. "At IBM, the training budget fell by $10 million from 2003 to 2004, a 1.4% decline, while the number of classroom and e-learning hours rose by 29%." As it stands, traditional economic measures fail to capture these types of productivity improvements. Another interesting calculation -- the ROI of immigration. If immigrants come to the US already educated, they are adding to the economic value of the nation. "Most of the workers who immigrate to the U.S. each year have at least a high school diploma, while about a third have a college education or better. Since it costs, on average, roughly $100,000 to provide 12 years of elementary and secondary education, and another $100,000 to pay for a college degree, immigrants are providing a subsidy of at least $50 billion annually to the U.S. economy in free human capital. Alternatively, valuing their contribution to the economy by the total wages they expect to earn during their lifetime would put the value of the human capital of new immigrants closer to $200 billion per year." Read more...

Engineering Dream Jobs

This special issue of IEEE Spectrum tells you all about the coolest engineering jobs. I have to say -- they're way cool. Martin Cooper uses lasers to restore priceless works of art. Grant Imahara builds that weird stuff you see on the Discovery Channel show -- MythBusters. And this guy tracks wild animals. The core message -- do something you love, be tenacious and flexible. And look out for the rhinos.

The Power of Belief

Today I stumbled across an MDRC school reform evaluation that explores the relationship between student engagement and perceived academic competence on achievement in reading and mathematics. The findings suggest that engagement in school and students’ perception of their own academic competence influence achievement in mathematics. So remember those cool teachers you had who acted like you might actually amount to something? Those are the folks who are key to student development. "The earlier schools and teachers begin to build students’ confidence in their ability to do well, the better off students will be. Teachers whom students see as supportive and who set clear expectations about behavior help create an atmosphere in which students feel in control and confident about their ability to succeed in future educational endeavors." Read more...

The Grit Factor

Penn researcher, Angela Lee Duckworth tells us that intellectual superstars aren't successful just because they're smart -- it's because they've got "grit" or persistence. In a study of West Point freshman cadets, Duckworth found that grit predicted successful completion of their summer training program. Grit beat out high school class rank, SAT scores, athletic achievement, community leadership experience and faculty appraisals. Can we teach grit or is success limited to obsessive compulsives? Duckworth and other researchers suggest that it's time to teach persistence and help kids understand how to overcome obstacles. Another strong suggestion is to the parents. "The most important thing parents can do to help kids succeed is to guide them in finding whatever it is they can love over the long haul." Read more...

Sunday TV: People Do Matter

This Sunday, Jon Delano aired a segment about the "People Do Matter" initiative. People Do Matter recognizes companies for outstanding accomplishments in human resources, training and organizational development. View the video clip here... Learn more about PDM (nominate an organization!) here...

Tough School-to-Work Question

"How can you have a successful school-to-work program if there's not enough room in the curriculum for kids to earn any real technical certification?" Jay Matthews poses this and other tough questions for Chris Peters, who coordinates Advancement via Individual Determination, at Cajon High School in San Bernadino, Calif. Read more here...

About the Region

Usually I try to post information about career education and workforce development but I just have to say a few words about my favorite blog -- http://pittsblog.blogspot.com/. While I don't always agree with his conclusions, Mike Madison does a great job exploring issues of regional concern. It's refreshing to see someone challenge popular points of view without just being a nay-sayer. Check it out...

College Illiteracy

It's no secret that most Americans believe that obtaining a college degree is a key to success. Here at HCPI we often shock people by reporting on how few students graduate in 6 years (about 50%). Now there's more upsetting news -- many students at college lack complex literacy skills. The study reports that more than half of students at four-year schools and more than 3/4 of students at two year schools "lack the skills to perform complex literacy tasks." This means that our college kids can't comprehend a newspaper editorial or compare credit card offers. Read more online...

Jobs You Can't Do Without

This article from workforce.com discusses the value of identifying positions that directly produce revenue, reach customers or encompass skills. The identification of these positions can help a company differentiate itself from rivals and better allocate resources. Here in SWPA, some forward-thinking organizations are already working hard to identify pivotal talent.