College and Career Readiness: Same or Different?
David T. Conley and Charis McGaughy
Whether they're headed for college or a career, students need a
solid foundation of academic knowledge combined with crucial thinking and
learning skills.
The importance of all students being college and career ready is one of the
most discussed issues in policy circles and secondary schools these days. But
are college readiness and career readiness one and the same? The answer has
far-reaching implications for how U.S. secondary schools are organized and how
they educate students.
But First, A Look Back
Through most of the 20th century, college readiness and career readiness were
more or less distinct, in part because what we now call career
readiness was called job training and took the form of vocational
education. In fact, from the 1920s on, large school districts had separate high
schools for vocationally oriented students and those going on to college (Tyack,
1974). Even in the high schools themselves, vocational students were mostly
separated from college-bound students. This model, with its assumptions about
the separation of career and college preparation, remained strongly rooted in
high schools throughout the 20th century.
