THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 7, 1995 TAG: 9507070002
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
American students are unprepared for the world of work, according to a study by the American Federation of Teachers. It compared high-school students in Scotland, France, Germany and the United States. The bad news is: This isn't news at all.
For decades it's been obvious that education for the college bound is adequate. But the 70 percent of students who will not complete college are treated by high schools as second-class citizens.
Few worthwhile apprenticeship programs exist. Schools and employers haven't made common cause. The high-school curriculum for students not heading for college does not provide the high-tech and literacy skills demanded by today's work environment.
Students who complain of an irrelevant education are right. The AFT study found students abroad more highly motivated. They know their education leads directly to work. Those who do well will be on the fast track for the best jobs. Those who do not know they will face employment problems.
By contrast, America lacks national curriculum expectations or test standards. A given school's A or F tells little about what the student has actually learned. Transcripts become meaningless as gauges of how prospective employees will perform on the job. What industry needs and schools require are often poles apart.
Some companies have tried to work with schools to assure a steady supply of qualified workers, but apprenticeship programs are still rare. Often community colleges do the job that high schools abroad accomplish. Despite talk about longer school days and years and higher standards, little has been accomplished.
As a result, our international competitors turn out high school graduates who know more and learn it sooner. They are prepared to begin work after high school - not as burger flippers, but as skilled technical workers - with far less on the job training or remediation.
The AFT's report raises the alarm once again. Poorly prepared students threaten our future prosperity. This ought to be a national priority. But the Clinton administration has neglected the issue.
A Republican Congress hostile to federal education spending has tossed the problem back to the states. State programs are a hodgepodge and many conservative governors oppose more spending or an active government role.
In the absence of political leadership and will, individual citizens will have to demand an education that prepares their children for the 21st century workplace, squabbling educators will have to change the way they've always done things and bottom line business leaders will have to decide to spend money to bring ill-prepared American workers up to speed rather than shift operations to countries where a trained work force is available.
All that could happen, but the smart money is betting on our foreign competitors. They take education seriously. by CNB