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"The most recent issue of the NY Review of Books has an extensive essay by Andrew Hacker on "The frenzy about high-tech talent." It's behind a paywall, alas,  but I'll try to provide some cognate links that are accessible to all.  Here's his main argument: "A recurring complaint is that not enough of our young people and adults have the kinds of competence the coming century will require, largely because not nearly enough are choosing careers that require the skills of STEM…[Michael Teitelbaum's 2014 book]  Falling Behind? makes a convincing case that even now the US has all the high-tech brains and bodies it needs, or at least that the economy can absorb."

Wall Street's excesses blew up the economy. Now the question is who pays to clean up the mess. Across the country, our children are already paying part of the bill -- as their schools are hit with deep budget cuts. A new report -- Starving America's Public Schools: How Budget Cuts and Policy Mandates are Hurting our Nation's Students -- released today by the Campaign for America's Future and the National Education Association, looks at five states to detail what this means to kids in our public elementary and secondary schools. (Full disclosure: I co-direct the Campaign.) The findings are sobering.

"‌The Survey of Adult Skills is an international survey conducted in 33 countries as part of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). It measures the key cognitive and workplace skills needed for individuals to participate in society and for economies to prosper. The first results from the Survey were released on 8th October 2013. The evidence from this Survey will help countries better understand how education and training systems can nurture these skills. Educators, policy makers and labour economists will use this information to develop economic, education and social policies that will continue to enhance the skills of adults.‌"

"We believe every young person deserves a pathway to economic success. That's why we're announcing a new $75 million investment to expand high-quality career-focused education programs that lead to well-paying jobs and long-term careers. Failing to prepare young people with the right skills and education for these jobs is not just a missed opportunity for them-it's a missed opportunity for businesses to hire the talent they need to grow and compete."

As countless headlines have blared recently, there is a growing demand for what are often called "middle-skill" jobs. Jobs that require more than high school typically but less than a baccalaureate degree; jobs that pay well. Just this week, the USAToday reported on, "Where the jobs are: The new blue collar." Career and technical education (CTE) is the starting point for these and other occupations. But not all CTE we find in today's public schools provides the proper beginning of a career pathway -- a pathway that builds on credentials business and industry recognize and value. What is needed is a revisioning of CTE to meet the more challenging demands of providing students with the skills they need to move through a viable career pathway and continue their education and training to make that pathway a reality. What is needed is high-quality CTE.