Using a new model to create pathways to higher learning

06-10-2011

Opinion by Stanley S. Litow and Robert B. Schwartz/Education Week

Stanley S. Litow is IBM’s vice president of corporate citizenship and corporate affairs and president of the IBM Foundation. Robert B. Schwartz is the Francis Keppel professor of practice and academic dean at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

American schools have been too narrow in their one-size-fits-all approach of preparing students to go to four-year colleges. That’s the important conclusion of a report published earlier this year from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and co-authored by one us—Robert B. Schwartz. The report, titled “Pathways to Prosperity,” goes on to outline a new vision, one that would expand opportunity for all students. The report argues that “preparing for college” and “preparing for a career” should not be mutually exclusive options. Because while preparing for college has become the nearly exclusive focus of educators, the fact is that seven in 10 Americans don’t earn a bachelor’s degree by their mid-20s. Moreover, only slightly more than 20 percent of students who enroll in community colleges obtain a two-year associate degree, even after three years. (more...)

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Using a new model to create pathways to higher learning

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