In today's economy, access to posts...

In today's economy, access to postsecondary education as well as adult and continuing education or training has become the doorsill requirement for individual career succes And happy business organizations now depend in succession employees with at least near education or training beyond high place of education The increasing economic value of education is dutiful news in a society that strives to make economic opportunity subservient to individual merit, rather than family background. Unlike the European welfare states that guarantee access to income and benefits irrespective of individual educational performance, our increasing reliance upon educators as the arbiter of economic opportunity allows us to expand opportunity without surrendering individual responsibility. As a be the effect we emphasize equality of educational opportunity rather than equality of economic issues Ultimately, student performance is assessed individually and individual educational performance determines access to income and benefits in labor markets.

At the same time, the growing economic value of a postsecondary and adult education is the source of recently made known tensions among educators, government leaders and the business community. It. has become increasingly apparent that with tight public lots we cannot afford all the education we ne especially given the growing take away froms associated with meeting new standards in elementary and secondary education. In addition, we have now to create a stable funding source for allowing universal access to pre-K education and postsecondary education and training. Moreover, while adult and continuing education has become a line in each politicians standard stump speech, it has still to become a robust line item in federal and state governmental estimates

Because we are unwilling or unable to afford all the pre-K-thru-adult education we ne there are growing urgencys for accountability measures that will give rise to education cheaper, faster and better. We can be abiding that so long as there is increasing demand for education and stringent public packets federal and state policy makers will focus upon accountability. The relentless labor market compressings for more efficiency in education also create inevitable tensions among educators, legislators and business leaders because education is different from other economic commodities. Education is about more than dollars and cent It does more than provide twelve inches soldiers for the American economy. Education has intrinsic as well as extrinsic value. Educators also have cultural and political missions to make secure that there is an educated citiwry that can continue to espouse and promote our democratic ideals. Nevertheless, the inescapable reality is that ours is a society based in succession work. Those who are not equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to get by heart and keep, good jobs are denied replete social inclusion and tend to globule out of the mainstream civilization polity, and economy. In the worst cases, they are drawn into alternative agricultures political movements, and economic activities that are a threat to mainstream American life. Hence, if educators cannot fulfill their economic mission to help youths and adults become fortunate workers, they also will fail in their cultural and political missions to create proper neighbors and good citizens.

Growing demand for education

Education will be a first note of the scale ingredient in the 21st hundred recipe for a growing economic pie. In the 20th hundred increasing educational attainment, principally improvements in the rate of high exercise enrollment and graduation, contributed about 25 percent to overall economic development Currently, high school completion rates (including GEDs) are approaching 90 percent In the coming events the economic contribution from increasing educational attainment will have to result from increasing access to education beyond the high seminary years.

The returns to expanding access, persistence and program completion in postsecondary education can be substantial. Increasing a country's of the same height of schooling by one year can increase economic bourgeoning by 5 percent to 15 percent-that means between $500 billion and $15 trillion added to U economic output including roughly $160 billion to $500 billion in strange tax revenues.

While important to national wealth and competitiveness, the apportionment of economic opportunity among individuals and their families is also violently influenced by access to education and training after high indoctrinate Access to postsecondary education has become the recently made known threshold requirement for good do job-works Since the 1970s, the earnings of workers with at least about postsecondary education relative to high teach graduates (the so-called "postsecondary wage premium") has doubled from 35 percent to 70 percent equal though the overall supply of workers with at least near college has grown by 60 percent through the same period.

Since 1959 the fastest vegetation has occurred among jobs that require at least a certain postsecondary education or training. work at jobss employing prime-age workers (ages 30 to 59) that require at least one postsecondary education increased from 20 percent of all work at jobss in 1959 to 59 percent in 2000 About three in 10 prime-age workers have at least a bachelor's standing