Education Next – Kathleen Mathers and Quentin Suffren
“A computer support specialist with a Cisco Certified Network Associate credential enjoys a median salary of $56,275, while a worker with a certification in food services typically earns a median wage of only $20,180. This is critical information students and families need to make informed choices about their education and career paths. Unfortunately, such information can be hard to come by. States can collect these data, but many of them do not. At ExcelinEd, we discovered that only 28 states currently tally which industry-recognized credentials students are earning at the K-12 level. And nearly half of the 50 states lack the ability to understand which students are earning credentials and whether those credentials are aligned with high-value job opportunities. That leaves millions of families in the dark about credentials that can open doors to economic opportunity.” (more)