For much of the 20th century, a prime goal of Maine’s public education system was to “get all our kids through high school.” We’ve made a great deal of progress toward this goal. In the 2014-2015 school year, the four-year high school graduation rate was 88 percent, and in 2013 Maine ranked among the top 15 states in the nation in this educational statistic.
Since the publication of the report “ A Nation at Risk” in 1983, the push for high school diplomas has been equated with economic improvement. More and better-educated graduates will supply skilled workers for a growing and innovating economy. In return, wages will climb, motivating more American youth to seek further education — a virtuous cycle benefiting all. By the 1990s, the push had extended to college degrees.
But what comes first: the well-educated worker or the well-paying, available job?
This year’s high school graduates face harsh economic realities, as have members of graduating classes back to 2000. Unemployment among Maine 17 to 24 year olds in 2015 was 10.2 percent percent, up from 8.7 percent in 2000, according to a recent Economic Policy Institute study.
Underemployment — holding jobs that do not require a high school diploma — stood at 20.6 percent, up from 13.1 percent in 2000. Combined, that’s 38.1 percent of young Mainers not enjoying the advertised fruits of their high school — and, for some, college — educations.
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This disconnect is, of course, not new for many rural Mainers. Those outside the Interstate 95 corridor have for generations faced the choice of staying in local jobs that likely require less formal education or leaving for jobs that may require more education. The “successful schooling” chicken hasn’t laid the “better jobs” egg for all.
The Economic Policy Institute’s data suggest that “better jobs” have not materialized, even for our rising numbers of college graduates. More troubling, perhaps, is that fewer high school graduates are going to post-secondary institutions and not completing the programs. Of the high schoolers who graduated in 2008 and enrolled in two years, just 57 percent earned their bachelor’s degree in six years, according to the Mitchell Institute.
The Economic Policy Institute concludes: “Thus, the Class of 2016 will be the eighth consecutive graduating class to enter the labor market during a period of weakness. The evidence suggests that because of their unlucky timing — in other words, through absolutely no fault of their own — this cohort is likely to fare poorly for at least the next decade.”
How can schools, parents and graduates themselves make sense of this dilemma of unfulfilled promises? What policy initiatives can help make the disconnect between education and work in Maine more of a “connect”?
1. Schools, parents and policymakers alike can refrain from arguing that the major reason to stay in school and earn a diploma is to “get a good job.” This formula works for some Maine kids but not directly for most. They instead need to paint a realistic picture of what jobs are available, what skills and attitudes they require and what types of jobs are not available and will require leaving or pursuing further education.
2. We adults can, as well, emphasize the broader virtues of finishing high school, those that have a lasting impact on our children’s character as well as our social fabric: membership in a class, a club, a team, an orchestra; learning experiences that were memorable for their enjoyment as well as their lessons; the satisfaction of completing the journey with pride and grit; relationships with teachers, coaches and staff that brought them respect and maturity; and friendships that will last and will sustain them through the inevitable transitions following high school.
3. Policymakers and business leaders in Maine need to more aggressively develop entrepreneurial zones that attract new and more diverse businesses to Maine, particularly to our rural market centers. The opportunities for these incubators to work closely with schools in their areas, for example through Jobs for Maine Graduates, will offer future high school graduates more job opportunities that are real, nearby and worth becoming proficient for. With sustained, ambitious state economic development, the “schooling” chicken will lay the “jobs” egg, and those eggs will, in turn, become chickens that will stimulate improvement in our schools.
Gordon Donaldson is professor emeritus of education at the University of Maine. This column originally appeared on the UMaine College of Education and Human Development website as part of the Maine Schools in Focus feature.