By Catherine Van Ness, Program Officer for Education
Students who entered college in 2018 faced significant challenges, including a global pandemic. Despite this, the percentage who graduated with a credential by 2024 rose slightly from previous years to 61 percent. However, this indicates that, on average, institutions are earning a D-minus grade in achieving their goal of conferring degrees on their students.
The American Academy’s Commission on Opportunities After High School launched in early 2024 with the vision of a future wherein all students can choose, and succeed in, the postsecondary path that best serves their needs and aspirations. Led by Nancy Cantor (Hunter College), Harrison Keller (University of North Texas), and Bridget Long (Harvard Graduate School of Education), commissioners have discussed the societal, economic, and education obstacles that impede a student’s progress and analyzed promising pathways from high school into higher education or directly into the workforce.
Members of the commission bring a wealth of professional experience and expertise to these discussions from the arts, business, K-12, higher education, medicine, military, philanthropy, service, and technology. Commissioners identified a need to complement their knowledge and inform the commission’s work by listening to students currently making decisions about their own postsecondary paths and the people supporting them.
During fall 2024 and spring 2025, the Academy held listening sessions in California, Colorado, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington, D.C. Participants included high school and college students, K-12 administrators and teachers, higher education administrators and faculty, employers, philanthropic leaders, and community partners.
The participants at the listening sessions were diverse in age, race, ethnicity, gender, geography, and family income level. High school students and administrators were recruited from public schools, career academies, adult learning centers, and magnet schools. College students and administrators came from two-year public community colleges, four-year private and public state universities, technical colleges, a public historically Black university, and a tribal college.
Some of the key takeaways from listening sessions with students included the high degree to which their postsecondary plans were influenced by, but not limited to, their family members’ and near peers’ experiences, the lack of capacity in many career and technical education programs for mobility between pathways if a student found their first choice was not a good fit, and anxiety related to transitioning to college and adulthood.
For students, their hopes for future success included housing stability, mission-driven careers, and financial security. They defined financial security as being able to support their parents and family, cover monthly bills without worrying, and have disposable income for travel. One student shared their dreams for their future by saying, “I think a successful life for me would be . . . to have my own personality and know who I am. And even if certain things go wrong or whatever, I could still be able to handle it.”
Administrators, faculty, and teachers in K-12 and higher education acknowledged that better coordination across siloes would benefit their students. However, many of them recognized that there was a lack of mutual understanding within the systems, making it difficult to navigate conflicting standards, regulations, or norms. Participants also expressed a desire to offer more guidance on financial literacy or different postsecondary options but often felt constrained by time, curriculum demands, or uncertainty about how to provide this support.
In describing a dual enrollment program at a local college, a high school student shared, “I heard about it from my brother since he did the program. He told me to do it. It could save a lot of money and time.”
Employers involved in work-based learning recognized its value and saw it as a worthwhile investment as part of a long-term strategy to build their talent pipeline. However, they acknowledged several challenges, such as administrative barriers and limited capacity for effective mentorship. Philanthropic and community partners emphasized the positive effects of increased student engagement at school through career- and college-connected educational opportunities that help students understand the value and importance of attending school.
Although many participants highlighted systemic barriers that can hinder student progress, it was clear that everyone wanted the best outcomes for students. As one administrator said, “I’m here because we’re passionate about improving the high school experience for our students and making sure that they have a plan for the day after graduation and they have the skills and dispositions in order to be successful in this world.”
The commission thanks all of the participants in these listening sessions for sharing valuable insights on the challenges students face, the conditions needed for thriving and successful partnerships, and what is most important to students as they make decisions about their futures. The commissioners are dedicated to ensuring that all students, particularly those from historically underserved communities, can thrive and find rewarding jobs in an ever-changing global economy, and become active contributors to society.
The Commission on Opportunities After High School is generously supported by the William T. Grant Foundation, Spencer Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and funding from anonymous sources.
For more information about the Commission on Opportunities After High School, please visit the Academy’s website.