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Post secondary education definitely helps young people find a better job
by Joe Nathan
Want to graduate from college, or get a good job after high school? Study hard and challenge yourself. This is true even if you plan to work full time after graduating from high school. The evidence and experience on this is very strong. And as Minnesota finally turns toward spring, it’s a message worth sharing with young people.
When asked, the vast majority of high school students say they want to go on to college. Here are statistics shared by James Rosenbaum, a professor of sociology education and social policy at Northwestern University. Writing in the spring issue of American Educator, a magazine put out by the American Federation of Teachers, he explains:
• 63.9% of students with an A average in high school get an A.A. (2 year) degree or higher
• 37.1% of students with a B average in high school get an A.A. degree or higher
• 13.9% of students with a C or lower high school average get an A.A. degree or higher
It turns out that high school math is a huge predictor of whether students earn a four-year college degree.
• 79.8 percent of high school students who take calculus earn a B.A.
• 74.3 percent of high school students who take pre-calculus earn a B.A.
• 62.2 percent of high school students who take trigonometry earn a B.A.
• 39.5% of those whose most advanced class is Algebra II earn a B.A.
• 23.1% of those whose most advanced class is Geometry earn a B.A.
• 7.8 % of those whose most advanced class in Algebra 1 earn a B.A.
Rosenbaum is very honest about the relationship between college and a good job. While students who graduate with a four-year degree, on average, earn more than those who graduate with a two-year degree, “college degrees are not required to enter many rewarding jobs, including construction trades, clerical and administrative support, auto and airplane mechanics, printing, graphics, financial services and many government and social services.”
However, and this is a HUGE however, even fields like construction, printing or auto mechanics have more opportunities for students who complete a two-year degree. Doing well in high school really CAN help you get a more satisfying job. It can help you support your family, and do things in life that you’d like to do.
Doing well in high school also will save you money, whether you attend a two or four year college. More than 30 percent of students graduating from Minnesota’s high schools and entering one of Minnesota’s public post-secondary education need to take at least one remedial course. Most often, that’s math. Can we, should we, make improvements in high schools? Absolutely. I’ve written before, and will write again about this.
But at the same time, young people need to know the facts. There are very clear rewards for working hard, and for challenging yourself. It’s really money in your pocket.
Joe Nathan is director of the Center for School Change at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. He can be reached at jnathan@hhh.umn.edu.
Columns by Joe Nathan
© ECM Publishers, Inc.
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ABOUT JOE NATHAN
Joe Nathan, a senior fellow at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, directs the Center for School Change, which seeks to help transform public education and to produce significant improvements in student achievement. Nathan has been a public school teacher and administrator and coordinated the National Governors Association education reform project, Time for Results. His most recent work involves strengthening rural communities to help increase student achievement and reduce violence. His specialty areas include parent and community involvement, school choice, charter schools, and youth community service.
Nathan has testified before twenty state legislatures and the U.S. Congress. He regularly publishes commentaries in major U.S. newspapers and has appeared on several hundred radio and television programs. The American School Boards Journal named his most recent book, Charter Schools: Creating Hope and Opportunity for American Education, one of the seven best books written about education in 1997. Nathan holds a doctorate in educational administration from the University of Minnesota.
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