|
|
|  | |||
|
Find Your Congressman & Senators |
|
| |||
Pathways to College Act Aims to Boost College-Planning CurriculumJune 2, 2009—To compete economically and prevent recessions in the future the educational achievement gap for all Americans must close, and more students must receive a college education. President Obama in his first speech to Congress set a goal for the United States to have the highest college graduation rate in the world by 2020. On May 21, 2009, Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Richard Burr (R-NC) introduced S 1129, the "Pathways to College Act," which would provide grants for local school districts to help increase the numbers of low-income students who enter and succeed in college through better information and guidance services in their high schools. Of U.S. eighth graders in the year 2000, only 20 percent of those in the lowest income brackets will earn a college degree by 2012, whereas 68 percent of the eighth graders in the highest income category will gain a college diploma by 2012. The Senators quoted from a recent report from McKinsey and Company, "The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America's Schools." The study states that if "America had raised the educational attainment of our students to those of high-performing nations like Finland and South Korea between 1983 and 1998, U.S. G.D.P. (Gross Domestic Product) in 2008 would have been between $1.3 trillion and $2.3 trillion higher than it is today." Furthermore, "If the gap between low-income American students of higher means had been narrowed, U.S. G.D.P. in 2008 would have been $400 billion to $670 billion higher." Each program funded under this legislation must develop and implement, or expand, a program to increase the number of low-income students who enroll in postsecondary educational institutions, including institutions with competitive admissions criteria. The allowable use of funds includes delivering college and career planning curriculum as a stand-alone course, or embedded in other classes, or delivered by the school counselor through guidance curriculum for all high school students. More Information Legislative
Briefing "The
Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America's Schools" | |||||
|
© 2011 The Association of
Educational Publishers | |||||
