Too many students are not prepared for the challenges of postsecondary education. Nationwide, 7,000 students drop out of high school every day and only about 70 percent of students graduate from high school with a regular high school diploma. For African-American, Latino, and low-income students, high school graduation rates are slightly above 50 percent.

Looking ahead in the workplace of the future, employers say their greatest need will be for workers with more technical skills, more advanced degrees or certifications, and better qualifications. A recent survey conducted by the Business Roundtable reveals that 65 percent of employers say they already require an associate’s degree or higher for most available positions.

To increase the proportion of individuals with high-quality postsecondary degrees and credentials, Lumina’s priority strategies will:

• Promote alignment and assesment of K-12 and higher education systems.
• Expand national postsecondary access outreach and action campaigns.
• Support the expansion of sustainable, high-quality student service and advocacy networks.
• Advocate for policies and programs that support low-income students.
• Support research on innovative approaches to support low-income students, including state and federal tax- and asset-based programs.

Improving the alignment between K-12 and postsecondary education systems can jumpstart stagnant college completion rates and high postsecondary remediation rates.

The connections between high schools and higher education institutions are not where they should be to help students prepare for and succeed in college. State governance policies and structures are instrumental in reversing this course by creating vehicles that promote change and establish a better alignment between high school and postsecondary education standards, policies, and practices. More (Source: The Governance Divide: A Report on a Four-State Study on Improving College Readiness and Success)

College preparation is a challenge for many students but especially for first-generation students and students from low-income families.

Research shows that certain college preparation efforts can help high schools improve college-access outcomes. These efforts include a college preparatory curriculum; the inclusion of assessments to determine whether students are building the knowledge and skills needed for college; the presence of adults and peers who support students’ college aspirations; and assistance to help students in completing college entrance exams and financial aid applications. (Source: Helping Students Navigate the Path to College: What High Schools Can Do)

Access to certain data is key to helping states better prepare students for higher education.

Improving high school graduation rates is essential to the nation’s economic growth and to restoring its position as a leader in educational attainment. While high schools with low graduation rates exist in every state, they are concentrated in a subset of 17 states that produce approximately 70 percent of the nation’s dropouts. To successfully transform or replace low graduation-rate high schools, states and districts need access to the growing knowledge base of what works and where it works. Data from these states can be used to develop new analytic tools for examining the characteristics of schools, districts, and states that make certain approaches more likely to succeed in certain places. (Source: Graduating America: Meeting the Challenge of Low-Graduation Rate High Schools)

Misperceptions about college costs and preparation close the doors to college for many academically qualified students.

Despite the increasing importance of higher education, many academically qualified students do not enroll in college because they are confused about the availability of financial aid or unprepared for what is required to actually enroll in college. Certain policy shifts could help address these issues. For instance, early-commitment financial aid programs for qualified students may help resolve cost concerns. Requiring students to take a course on college as early as middle school might motivate students and their families to better prepare for higher education in the future. (Source: Promise Lost: College-Qualified Students Who Don’t Enroll in College)

Building sustainable college access and success networks will be an important driver to increasing U.S. higher education attainment.

Launched in 2007 by Lumina Foundation, the American Council on Education, and the Ad Council, KnowHow2GO encourages low-income and first-generation students in grades 8 through 10 to take the steps necessary to prepare for college. KH2GO is a college-access policy-advocacy movement with networks in 14 states—all of which embrace Lumina’s big goal of increasing the percentage of Americans who hold high-quality degrees and credentials to 60 percent by 2025. More