A Corporation-supported project from Foundation for Excellence in Education shares state-level information about the credentials students are earning, along with the credentials employers are demanding, in hopes of creating a more robust, equitable workforce
Postsecondary education is becoming increasingly important in today’s labor market. According to a projected jobs report by the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, only 36 percent of job openings in 2020 did not require education beyond high school. But for many young people, the deciding factor of whether they get a high-quality, well-paying job isn’t just continued education or training, but the type of credentials they’ve earned.
Credentials Matter, a Corporation-supported project by the Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd), shares state-level information about the credentials students are earning, along with the credentials employers are demanding. As an initial Corporation-funded report on the project explains, not all credentials are created equal, and the interactive project aims to be a jumping off point for states to begin conversations about which credentials are most valuable and lead students to good careers. In an updated September 2020 report about the project, ExcelinEd authors refreshed their findings based on expanded credential attainment data and explored the full impact of Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways that begin in high school and terminate in postsecondary study more closely.
Additionally, ExcelinEd have used their data to create a COVID-19 case study report, which examines the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on career and technical education and associated industry credentials.
The long-term benefits of the Credentials Matter project are widespread. Not only can the collected data around credential attainment and employer demand help states align their education system with what their workforce needs, it also allows states and districts to design CTE programs to enable students to earn high-value credentials, as well as enable students to consider the value of the credentials they’re earning.
As the project clearly lays out, a focus on industry-recognized credentials can open doors to middle- and higher-wage careers to a wide variety of individuals, which in turn can have a positive, reverberating affect to a state’s workforce and economy.
TOP: (Credit: David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
In 2020, one in three students in the U.S. attended a new public school created during the last three decades. A new Corporation-commissioned report provides a quantitative review of the number, geographic distribution, and characteristics of new public schools with implications for the broader education system
Improving Schools & Systems
Whether you call it digital, information, news, visual, or media literacy — it is vital for civic engagement and democracy
CitizenshipFuture of Learning & Work