Question the quo: Gen Z teens want shorter, more affordable, career-connected education pathways

ECMC Group, in partnership with its affiliates ECMC Education and ECMC Foundation, launched the Question The Quo public awareness campaign in 2020 to gather insights from Generation Z [Gen Z] high school students about their education and careers and to encourage them to follow the path that is right for them. Grounding the campaign in national survey data, ECMC Group sought to uncover teens' awareness of their many education options. ECMC Group began surveying high school students in February 2020, before the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic, and continued collecting new data as students' lives and education environments were impacted. In total, ECMC Group has conducted five nationally representative Question The Quo Education Pulse surveys: February 2020, May 2020, January 2021, September 2021 and January 2022. Each survey has revealed new and telling findings about how Gen Z is thinking about the future of their education and careers.

Despite having their lives continually changed, Gen Z's confidence in themselves only dropped slightly from February 2020 to January 2022, although their confidence in the world was and remained considerably lower. Other areas were impacted more significantly. The number of students considering four-year college dropped 20 percentage points, and there was a nearly 10 percentage-point drop in those who believe any education beyond high school is necessary. The findings point to a possible 'new normal' for education that requires shorter, less expensive, more direct-to-career pathways in high-demand industries.

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