In America, we’re good at setting goals and meeting them. We helped make the world safe for democracy — twice; we worked our way out of the Great Depression; we landed a man on the moon. So when we say America will once again be the global leader in college graduates by the end of this decade, we mean it.
But why does that matter? The short answer is that education is the engine of economic growth and if America is going to succeed in the emerging economy, we are going to need the best educated workforce in the world. To meet this end, we are going to need parents, educators and elected officials working together to bring higher education within reach of every American. This is a once in a generation moment that could define our country’s course for the next half-century.
The College Board is committed to achieving this vision for America. Yet considering that the U.S. currently ranks 12th in the world in degrees among 25- to 34-year-olds, it’s fair to say that we are climbing uphill.
To raise awareness of this vital mission, the College Board has organized the College Completion Agenda: State Capitals Campaign, which stopped in Denver this week and will continue traveling across the country to places like North Carolina, New York and Virginia.
The State Capitals campaign is an extension of the College Board’s 55 by 25 effort, which aims to ensure that at least 55 percent of young Americans earn a college degree by 2025.
Furthermore, it will serve as a call to action that brings together policy makers, educators, community and business leaders, students and concerned citizens to advance the completion agenda and return America to its place as the global leader in educational attainment. Only together will we be able to achieve 55 by 25.
To help our nation reach this auspicious but attainable goal, the College Board has partnered with the National Council of State Legislatures to develop the College Completion Agenda: State Policy Guide. The policy guide includes ten detailed recommendations devised by education experts, and takes on issues like early childhood education, dropout prevention, teacher quality, college affordability and student financial aid, as well as many others. Together, these recommendations are both a roadmap and a toolkit for states to promote college completion and academic success. The guide recognizes that all the pieces fit together, and that the path to college completion begins well before high school.
We further believe the policy guide will play an important role during this period of fiscal austerity, which has left many governors and state legislatures scrambling to close cavernous budget gaps, often at the expense of admittedly worthwhile programs. The guide offers innovative recommendations that will not compound current financial problems and will set the stage for economic resurgence down the road.
For example, the guide offers four recommendations for reducing dropout rates. They range from the short-term — conducting a policy audit — to the mid-term — establishing a statewide task force to build political will and develop a set of strategies to address dropouts — to the long term — encouraging accountability among different agencies that serve America’s youth to ensure that students stay on the path toward graduation.
The work related to the College Completion Agenda can be found online at , and we encourage everyone — students, parents, teachers, administrators and elected officials — to read it. If a particular idea or policy strikes a chord, write it down or print it out. Then dial up your state legislator and tell them why you think we need to take action, and what we need to do.
Focusing on college completion today is critical to our prosperity tomorrow. After all, education is and always has been the engine of our economy. At moments like these, it’s time for high octane.
Gaston Caperton is president of the College Board and former governor of West Virginia. Roy Romer is former governor of Colorado.
