The Economic Case for College and Career Readiness: Implications of National Trends

American Diploma Project ▪ September 2011Dr. Brian K. Fitzgerald, CEO

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Nationally, employers expect employees to use a broad set of skills.

SOURCE: Hart Research Associates. (2010). Raising the Bar: Employers’ Views on College Learning in the Wake of the Economic Downturn.

Learning Outcomes Desired by Employers

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Current workforce demands indicate acute labor surpluses and shortages.

National Workforce Surpluses and Shortages

SOURCE: Light, J. (2011). Labor Shortage Persists in Some Fields. Wall Street Journal

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And future workforce projections indicate on-going shortages, especially in high growth career fields.

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Management Education Health Care ComputerSpecialties

CommunityServices

Career Fields

Pe

rce

nt

Projected Annual Job Openings Career Interested and Math Proficient

SOURCE: Derived from ACT’s The Condition of College and Career Readiness, 2010

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These shortages, especially in STEM, are the result of systemic leaks in the production

and career pipeline.

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American students’ math proficiency and STEM career interest decline throughout high school. By 12th grade, only 17% of students are math proficient and interested in a STEM career.

SOURCE: The Business-Higher Education Forum. (2011). The STEM interest and proficiency challenge: Creating the workforce of the future. 

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The threat to our nation’s competitiveness is even more apparent when we analyze 12th graders math proficiency and interest in STEM by race/ethnicity.

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SOURCE: The Business-Higher Education Forum. (2011). The STEM interest and proficiency challenge: Creating the workforce of the future. 

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Once those students enroll in college, undergraduate STEM attrition by major is also substantial.

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Biology ComputerScience

Engineering PhysicalSciences*

Math STEM

Anticipated Major

Att

riti

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Rat

e (%

)

*includes Chemistry, Physics, Earth and Planetary Sciences

SOURCE: Koff, R., Molter, L., & Renninger, K.A. (2009). Why Students Leave STEM Fields: Development of a Common Data Template and Survey Tool. A report to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. ©BHEF

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And only about half of STEM college graduates choose to work in STEM careers upon graduation.

SOURCE: Carnevale, T. (2011). The STEM Workforce. Presentation to the PCAST Working Group on STEM HigherEducation, April 15, 2011. ©BHEF

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BHEF addresses this challenge by:

• Developing, documenting and disseminating replicable models of education improvement and workforce alignment, especially in STEM

• Collaborating with members to lead education and workforce projects in their communities

• Further developing BHEF’s unique tools and resources to support education stakeholders leading high-impact change around education and workforce misalignment

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