A Note from Gaston
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Gaston Caperton |
Dear Colleagues,
As the calendar year comes to an end, the College Board will be releasing one of the most important and powerful reports our advocacy group has ever delivered. The chair of the Commission on Access, Admissions and Success in Higher Education, Brit Kirwan, has done an outstanding job. He has not only led the team skillfully, but he has also been very involved in developing the key recommendations and in the writing of the report, “Coming to Our Senses: Education and the American Future.” His fellow comission members are true leaders in the fields of education and public policy. They are why this report is so important.
Let me provide a few statistics that have driven this group in their efforts. The United States now ranks 21st out of 27 advanced economies in high school graduation rates. We were number one a few decades ago. The United States ranks 11th in college completion rates for 25- to 34-year-olds. A decade ago, we were number one. A lower percentage of 25- to 34-year-olds have a college degree than 35- to 44-year-olds, an unfortunate distinction we share with only one other of those 27 countries.
These statistics must change if our nation is to continue to prosper and if we want our children and grandchildren to have the same opportunities for career success as we have enjoyed. I firmly believe that the commission will contribute critical leadership for enacting this change. Working toward the goal of having 55 percent of young Americans obtain a community college degree or bachelors degree by 2025, they have crafted 10 comprehensive recommendations and will launch an advocacy campaign to ensure that their ideas and strategies are adopted in schools, colleges and legislatures. I am extremely impressed by their thoughtful and innovative approach to the tackling of what I believe remains one of our country’s most important challenges.
I hope we can work together in the new year to put the commission’s ideas to work. In the meantime, I wish you, your colleagues and families a very happy holiday season.
