Dear colleagues,
A recent New York Times article profiled how KIPP schools are leveraging the International Baccalaureate’s Career-related Programme (CP) to give students both academic rigor and career relevance. It’s an inspiring story—but it also reminded me how limited our national narrative still is when it comes to postsecondary pathways.
The piece in part reflects an unhelpful binary narrative we see a lot of: four-year college versus “everything else.”
That framing misses the mark. It obscures the fact that:
- Many high-value career pathways (which are often lumped into the “everything else” bucket) are college—think associate and career/technical degrees from community colleges and degree apprenticeships that include classroom learning.
- Students who plan to attend four-year colleges still need career exposure and structured advising to help them make good decisions about majors and future jobs.
Let’s reframe the conversation to be about value, not hierarchy.
What really matters: Purpose + Payoff
The team at ExcelinEd recently released a compelling report, Pathways Matter: Maximizing Return on Investment, that helps anchor this reframing with data and clear definitions. Their takeaway? All students should experience what have too often been seen as components of “alternate” pathways, such as:
- Career exploration and guidance
- Rigorous coursework aligned to both college and industry expectations
- Opportunities to earn college credit and/or credentials of value in high school
- Work-based learning
- A seamless transition to postsecondary education and training
When these components are in place, the return on investment is clear:
✔️ Higher rates of college enrollment and persistence
✔️ Increased attainment of credentials with labor market value
✔️ Better alignment between student interests and workforce demand
The importance of integration
The KIPP-IB example is a great one. It blends academic challenge with career preparation. Their College Knowledge and Career Success course helps students explore interests and understand the education required to pursue them. That kind of integration—academic + career—is a critical component to quality pathways for all students. It’s also what’s too often missing.
One thing I found myself wishing the article had covered more explicitly? Social capital. Students don’t just need information—they need relationships and mindsets that help them navigate choices and institutions.
Time to reframe the narrative
We should stop asking whether students are choosing “college” or “career.”
We should ask whether students are on a path that offers:
- Clear value
- Strong support
- Flexible onramps
- A payoff that aligns with their goals
Because that’s the path worth following.
Patrick Methvin, Director
Pathways and Postsecondary Success Strategies
AccelerateED Partners Come Together
Many of our partners and Pathways team gathered in Denver recently for the third AccelerateED convening. Pathways-building teams from across the country came together to share ideas and learn from one another about how to deliver high-quality learning and support to students.
What we’re reading
- The National College Attainment Network (NCAN) has amplified two recent studies from The Education Trust and The Century Foundation on “universal FAFSA policies,” which generally require high school seniors to submit or complete FAFSA as part of high school graduation. The reports show that states that adopt and effectively implement universal FAFSA policies are seeing notable improvements in college-going rates, especially among students from low-income backgrounds.
- A new report from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) highlights how students who participate in dual enrollment programs in math are far more likely to persist in higher education.
- The College Success Foundation (CSF) is celebrating their 25th anniversary this year, and as part of that effort are sharing the stories of CSF alumni and demonstrating with data how transformational the benefits of postsecondary education can be for students and families.