High school reform and work: facing labor market realities

This report examines information on the abilities and qualities needed to enter employment with a high school diploma, including the kinds of skills and abilities that employers say they want. The report begins with information on the age of hiring and then discusses what employers report that they want high school graduates to know and be able to do. The report examines the following questions: How has the occupational structure changed over the past decades? How is it changing with respect to the educational attainment needed to enter occupations? These questions are investigated by considering trends in educational attainment, the comparative returns in employment success at different levels of educational attainment, how employment projections can inform educational planning, where job openings are expected to occur over the next decade, and the requirements of occupations that are projected to grow. In conclusion, the author examines the prospects for earning a 'middle-class' wage with qualifications less than a college degree, and the new basics that are likely to be required in order to earn such a wage. The author stresses the need for considerable improvements in educational achievement if high school graduates are to be qualified for the better-paying jobs that can enable a middle-class life style. Show less