Table Of ContentDOCUMENT RESUME
TM 027 301
ED 411 293
Barton, Paul E.
AUTHOR
Employers and Student Achievement.
TITLE
Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ. Policy
INSTITUTION
Information Center.
1996-00-00
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ETS Policy Notes; v7 n2 Win 1996
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*Academic Achievement; Career Education; *Education Work
DESCRIPTORS
Relationship; Educational Change; Experiential Learning;
*High School Graduates; High School Students; High Schools;
Partnerships in Education; *School Business Relationship;
Teacher Education; Vocational Education; *Work Experience
Programs
*Employer Role
IDENTIFIERS
ABSTRACT
Employers have played an important role in the education
reform movements of the 1980s and 1990s; they have been vocal about the
education deficiencies of the people they interview. They have focused on
what the schools can do to improve education, but there are things that
employers can do. The first thing is to make achievement matter by taking the
applicant's high school record into account. Employers can also work with the
schools to enhance the achievement of young people they employ on a part-time
basis as they go through school. Employers can promote experience-based
education and strengthen the relationship between work and education.
Teachers need to understand the needs of business and the skills their
students need, and employers can educate teachers in these areas. Teachers
need to see and experience the workings of business first hand. Businesses
can also support programs that help students choose and plan for careers.
Employers are in a position to take a lead role in promoting educational
reform that will bring them employees with the skills they need. (Contains
four figures.)
(SLD)
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News from the ETS Policy Information Center
Winter 1996
Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey
Volume 7, Number 2
EmpBoyerrs and Sfiudent AcCrdevemerd
in partnerships of all shapes and
Making Achievement Matter
Employers have played an
important role in the education
sizes. Employers have been sup-
naturally an-
portive of the national goals set
Adolescents
reform movements of the 1980s
ticipating the freedom and
by President Bush and the
and 1990s. They have been
are well
income of adulthood
vocal about the education
nation's governors at the
aware of the two main gates to
deficiencies of the people they
Charlottesville Summit in 1989.
adult economic society: the
At the Education Summit in
interview for employment; they
gate of employment, and the
March of 1996, each governor
have participated in state-level
was accompanied by a chief
gate of postsecondary educa-
efforts to raise teaching stan-
tion, a route to better employ-
executive officer who took an
dards, require more-rigorous
active role in formulating the
ment opportunities. Paradoxi-
courses, and install account-
actions and policies that were
cally, in hiring high school
ability systems. To improve
graduates, employers are not
announced. Business organiza-
American education, busi-
tions have followed up, creating
asking these prospective em-
nesses have joined with schools
ployees anything about the
the Business Coalition for Educa-
tion Reform that coordinates the
kinds of courses they took in
This Issue: Employers and
high school or the grades they
work of 12 national business
Student Achievement
received. On the one hand,
organizations, including the
A viewpoint on how employers
American employers have been
National Alliance of Business,
can work with schools to raise
vocal in saying that American
the Business Round-table, the
student achievement, by
Chamber of Commerce, and
students are educationally defi-
cient, that they are not pre-
the National Association of
Paul E. Barton
pared in the new basics re-
Manufacturers.
quired in the high performance
Business has focused on
Making Achievement Matter
workplace, that the young
improving what the schools do.
people who come to them for
While this focus is certainly
Starting Young
jobs do not meet their require-
important, there are some critical
ments. On the other hand, em-
things that employers can do,
Experience-Based Learning
ployers show no apparent re-
beyond influencing what hap-
gard for the applicant's high
Teachers Who Understand
pens behind classroom doors.
o
school record.
One of the significant advances
Business Needs
Employers at the Education
at the 1996 Education Summit
Helping Students Choose
was the recognition that employ-
Summit promised to turn this
o
0 i
and Plan
around. They said:
ers could take actions very
important to raising student
Leading in the Community
o
achievement
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Educational Research and Improvement
TIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION
EDU
CENTER (ERIC)
This document has been reproduced as
received from the person or organization
originating it.
Minor changes have been made to
2
improve reproduction quality.
BEST COPY AVAIL4
Points of view or opinions stated in this
document do not necessarily represent
official OERI position or policy.
will clearly commu-
. we
the entire year, including the
while they are still in high school.
nicate to students, parents,
At any point during the school
summer, most students will
schools, and the commu-
year, a half to two-thirds of stu-
work at some time. These are
nity the types and levels of
students both at work and at
dents are working part-time.
skills necessary to meet the
The rate of part-time work varies
school, but it is rare for the
work-force needs of the
employer and the school
by gender, race/ethnicity, and
next century and imple-
to have any contact with
socioeconomic status (see
ment hiring practices within
each other regarding the
Figure 1). Over the course of
one year that will require
applicantS to demOnstrate-
Figure 1
academic achievement
Percentage of Students Employed During the School
through school-based
Year, 1992
records, such as academic
transcripts, diplomas, port-
Working is widespread among high school seniors. The rate
folios, certificates of initial
is highest for females, for White students, and for middle-
mastery, or others as
class students.
appropriate (emphasis
supplied).
Gender
When students learn that
Female
52
academic achievement mat-
ters to employers, they will
Male
take it much more seriously.
48
An example:
Race/Ethnicity
A'serious effort in keeping
White
54
with this summit policy
statement is The HIRE ED
Asian
42
program in Delaware.
HIRE ED was created
through the Business Indus-
Hispanic
39
try Education Alliance.
Employers look at high
Black
32
-
school records and also
visit schools and talk to
Socioeconomic Status
students. The Alliance has
provided every public high
Middle
53
school with a fax machine
to,help schools respond to
High
49
requests from employers.g
Low -0 44
St rting Young
I //
70
40
30
0 50 60
100
Some segments of industry,
Percentage of Seniors
particularly food service and
retail trade, have become
Source. National Center for Education Statistics, A Profile of the American High
heavily involved with students
School Senior in 1992.
2
educational progress of student
tively small percentage of stu-
objectives are to raise aca-
workers, rare for the employer to
demic achievement, improve
dents have opportunities for
take an interest in how the
problem-solving and critical-
internships, youth apprentice-
worker is doing with his or
ships, or cooperative education
thinking skills, and improve the
her studies, and rare for the
Nations competing with the
transition from school to work.
school to know where and how
However, this approach to
United States have recognized
much any individual student is
learning cannot expand on
the value of using the work-
working.
place in education. In Germany,
substantial scale without the
active participation of employ-
for example, about 80 percent
If employers of students took
a real interest in the school side
of all occupations are prepared
ers. They must work in partner-
of their lives, pointed out where
for through "dual enrollment"
ship with the schools. In listing
education can make a differ-
"immediate next steps," the
programs, with students dividing
ence in employment success,
their time between the work-
1996 Education Summit
and recognized effort in school,
called for
place and the school room.
the message would get across
In such employer-involved
earlythe message that em-
reaching out to other
education, employers help
.
.
ployers care about school
shape learning, impart the kind
governors and other busi-
achievement, and that it mat-
of learning most appropriate to
ness leaders to identify
and adopt effective prac-
the workplace, and develop
ters in employment success.
tices to improve achieve-
future employees they have
ment and look for opportu-
Employers can add "stu-
first-hand experience with. Sur-
dent of the month" awards
veys show that employers who nities where states and
to those for "worker of the
have been involved with youth
businesses can work
together..
apprenticeship and coopera-
month awards," limit work
hours for students with low
tive education programs are
grades, and inform schools
satisfied with their experience
Most governors have initiated
of the kinds of education
and see the benefits of such
school-to-work programs since
deficiencies students must
the new law was enacted, and
programs.
remedy.G
Students also gain much (see
all of these new efforts require
the active participation of
Figure 2). They have an oppor-
tunity to apply what they learn
employers. An example of an
"effective practice" to improve
in school, and to learn in con-
Experience-Based Learning
text, rather than just through
achievement is the school-to-
work program at Dauphin
textbooks and lectures. They
learn to cooperate and accept
In a recent national survey of
County Technical School in
employer hiring practices, expe-
supervision; just as important,
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where
rience ranked highest in what
they learn the culture of the
workplace and become accus-
employers are looking for. They
about 800 students alter-
nate a week of full-time
know there is no substitute for
tomed to its requirements.
learning at the workplace
work and a week of school
New efforts have been under
that it is by being in the work-
during the 12th grade.
way for three years, under the
Academic and vocational
place that the culture of work is
School to Work Opportunities
absorbed, and that appropriate
instruction is integrated.
Act, to use the worksite as part
knowledge can be developed
of secondary education. That
Such students can also
and applied. Yet in the United
earn credits at the commu-
act requires combining worksite
States, the use of the workplace
nity college while still
and school site instruction with
<
is not a standard part of a sec-
activities that connect the work in high school.o
ondary education; only a rela-
and school experience. The
3
Teachers Who Understand
Figure 2
Business Needs
Attitudes of Students Working in School-Employer Work
Experience Programs
Teachers go to elementary
and secondary school for 12
Students working in joint employer-school programs say they
years, then go to college for
learn problem solving, the importance of a good education,
four or more years, and then
and how to take responsibility.
go into the classroom to teach
for some period of years.
-Percentage who- say the- job..
.
People in business spend their
professional lives in workplaces,
helps in problem solving
85
and their contact with schools
may amount to no more than
the typical conferences with
their children's teachers. How
teaches how to take
would we expect that schools
80
responsibility
would be tuned into the needs
of business? It is not surprising
that miscommunication
teaches the importance of
abounds.
75
a good education
American students do well in
international comparisons when
tested for reading comprehen-
sion of school texts and litera-
helps me learn to do
ture. However, both the 1986
70
things well
and the 1992 nationwide as-
sessments of literacy skills con-
firmed that students do poorly
when they use print materials
teaches how to
63
that direct them to carry out
follow directions
the kinds of real-world tasks
employers require. An obvious
lack of connection appears
helps me recognize
also in mathematics, specifi-
subjects I like
cally in the areas of problem
solving and critical thinking.
Teachers need the opportu-
nity to see and experience the
teaches how to
41 46
workings of business first hand.
set priorities
They need to see what kinds of
written materials employees
must work with and produce.
I
I I I
I 1
1
They need to see the kinds of
40 50 60
70 80 90 100
quantitative problems they
Percentage of Students
must deal with on the job. They
Source: James Stone Ill, et al. Adolescents' Perceptions of their Work: School
need to see the differences
Supervised and Non School Supervised, National Center for Research in Voca-
between reading to do, and
tional Education, 1990 (data included in the study are drawn from two cities).
reading to learn in schools.
4
Such differences in the way
Figure 3
schools and employers per-
Document Literacy of Young Adult "Adept" Readers*
ceive achievement are illus-
trated in a national study that
Students who read well in school may not do well in
measured the reading skills of
workplace literacy tasks.
young adults on both school
and real-world documents.
Readers judged to be "adept"
Document Literacy Proficiency
at school reading varied
Over 375 - 3
greatly in dealing with knowl-
edge and skills required to lo-
cate and use information con-
tained in job applications or
350 -375.
9
payroll forms, bus schedules,
maps, tables, indexes, and so
forth (see Figure 3).
325-349
17
Chief Executive Officers
at the 1996 Education
Summit recognized this
300-324
24
need when they and the
governors declared that
businesses and schools
275-299
24
should arrange for teach-
ing professionals to visit
businesses throughout
the states to help them
250-274
13
develop'a better under-
standing of the needs of
225-249 -- 7
employers.
An example:
Under 225
3
In the Osceola School Dis-
trict in Arkansas, there is
a program of summer in-
ternships for both second-
0
10
20
25
5
15
ary and postsecondary
Percentage of "Adept" Readers
teachers to prepare them
to help students connect
learning in the classroom
*Adept readers can understand complicated literary and informational
to their career goals. There
passages, including material about topics they study, in school
They can also analyze and integrate less familiar material and provide
are job-shadowing and
reactions to and explanations of the text as a whole Performance at this level
internship plans operating
suggests the ability to find, understand, summarize, and explain
in Boston, Massachusetts;
relatively complex information
Jefferson County, Ken-
Source: Unpublished data, Young Adult Literacy Study, Educational Testing
tucky; and Philadelphia,
Service.
Pennsylvania.G
5
Helping Students Choose
Figure 4
and Plan
Percentage of High School Seniors Receiving Various
Guidance Services
It is when students choose
their curriculum and develop
1992 seniors received little help finding jobs and
expectations about careers
a lot of help going on to college.
that they make implicit deci-
Help Finding Jobs
sions about how high they will
aim in academic achievement.
Did vocational counselor help selet job?
If they know little about the job
6%
Yes
market they will face, and little
about the educational require-
78%
No
ments these jobs will have, they
are more likely to choose the
-- 15%
School does
easy courses, watch TV at night
not have
instead of doing homework, or
succumb to peer pressure not
Did guidance counselor help select job9
to do anything that will make
12%
Yes
them look like "nerds."
If students are to make intelli-
84%
No
gent choices, they must be
well-informed about the conse-
School does
.4 40/0
quences of those choices, and
not have
must have access to compe-
tent advisors. Yet counseling
and guidance in these areas
Help Going on to School
are sorely neglected in second-
Did you get help with filling out
ary education. Where resources
school applications at high school?
exist, they go lopsidedly to help-
45%
Yes
ing college-bound students
negotiate the college applica-
53%
No
tion process, as opposed to
helping students find work after
School does
2%
high school. Those unable to
not offer
chart a clear path are most
likely to be overlooked. Figure 4
Did you talk to a high school teacher or guidance
documents this discrepancy.
counselor about financial aid?
Nothing has been said about
54%
Yes
the deficiencies in counseling
and guidance in this 1990s edu-
46%
No
cation reform movement. In
fact, nothing was said about it
in the 1980s reform movement.
'
'
'
i
1-
I
I
I
I
1
100
80
The thick annual Condition of
40
60
20
0
Percentage of Students
Education report issued by the
National Center for Education
Source: National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, Second Follow-Up,
Statistics of the U.S. Department
National Center for Education Statistics, 1994.
of Education does not even list
7
6
counseling or guidance in its
Leding in the Community
index. In fact, little is known
about how much time is avail-
Employers played a lead role
able for counseling in high
in the 1996 Education Summit.
school, and how that time is
And they urged employers to
spent (the last national study
take the lead in their states.
was in 1980). In 1988, Oliver
Leadership "activities may
Moles, of the Office of Educa-
include organizing town meet-
tional Research and Improve-
ings to build public support
and engage parents and
ment; reported that helping
students plan and prepare for
communities in improving stu-
dent performance..." and
their work roles after high
school ranked lowest both in
"organizing a state-level
what guidance staff empha-
Education Summit to design a
sized and what guidance staff
state-specific plan for develop-
desired. Guidance staff gave
ing and implementing stan-
the highest priority to helping
dards and assessments."
students with personal growth
and development.
Employers need to look at
their high schools' commitment
to help students prepare for
employment, their ability to
inject courses of study with the
real requirements of the job
market, and their willingness
to maintain connections with
employers. For example,
A more detailed discussion
of the role employers can play,
the business community
with examples of good prac-
can help by stationing
tices, is available from the
advisors in the schools.
Southern Regional Education
The Boston Compact (in
Board's "High Schools that
place since 1982) and the
Work" initiative. Its title is
Jobs Collaborative support
Employers and Schools Working
career specialists in 14 high
Together to Improve Student.
schools. They help in devel-
Achievement. To order, call
oping work readiness, in
404-875-9211, extension 236. It
resume preparation, in role
is 16 pages and costs $1.50
playing for interviews, and
(or $1.00 each for 10 or more
in placing graduates in
copies).
jobs.G
7
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Vol. 7, No 1, Summer 1996
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Internet: [email protected]
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Director, ETS Policy Information
Center: Paul E. Barton
Editor. Richard J. Coley
Copyright © 1996 by Educational
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