A growing number of postsecondary institutions and systems have begun offering or scaling stackable credential programs. These structured education and training pathways--in fields such as health care, information technology, and manufacturing and engineering technology--provide individuals with opportunities to earn certificates, postsecondary…

This brief describes work done by RAND Education and Labor and the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education at the University of Michigan--Ann Arbor and documented in "Stackable Credential Pipelines and Equity for Low-Income Individuals: Evidence from Colorado and Ohio. Research Report. RR-A2484-1" [ED627835]. The brief…

This report describes how six Colorado community colleges used $1.4 million of pandemic relief funding to support individuals pursuing short-term credentials. The authors examined state and college decisions about program eligibility, student eligibility, grant amounts, funding uses, and application requirements as well as outcomes for those…

In this report, the authors provide a preliminary look at the Improving Pre-Engineering and Computer Science Education Through Micro-Credentialing project to develop and implement micro-credentials as a means of providing scalable, competency-based certification of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teaching skills in…

This appendix supplements the report "Stackable Credential Pipelines in Ohio: Evidence on Programs and Earnings Outcomes" (ED613593). In the appendix, the authors provide more details about the data and empirical approach, additional information about the samples, and some alternative results from analyses related to those that appear in…

The earnings of individuals who participate in education and training after high school can provide information about the value of those credentials. This Perspective provides a review of the evidence on earnings gains associated with various types of postsecondary credentials, including college credit--bearing degrees and certificates, noncredit…

Individuals in the United States can pursue a variety of different types of postsecondary education credentials. This Perspective describes four common types: degrees, certificates, industry certifications and licenses, and apprenticeships. Bachelor's degrees are the most commonly awarded postsecondary credential in the United States…

Florida is experiencing a shortage of high-quality mathematics teachers. According to the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE), there was a critical shortage of K-12 mathematics teachers (among several other subject areas) at the start of the 2022-2023 school year (FLDOE, 2022). In this report, the authors present selected findings from the…

This Perspective summarizes recent trends in young peoples' entrance into and completion of postsecondary educational programs. Education is an important pathway into well-paying jobs and the American middle class. Education levels have been rising for the past 50 years, including large gains for many demographic groups. But declining public…

Federal, state, and local initiatives have encouraged education and training providers to build stackable credentials, a series of postsecondary credentials that can be earned over time and that build on each other to prepare individuals for different needs for knowledge and skills throughout a career. By offering flexible pathways that allow…

Stackable credential initiatives aim to build education and training pipelines in applied fields that allow individuals to earn educational certificates or other industry-recognized credentials and then build on these short-term credentials to earn additional certificates and degrees throughout their careers. Stackable credentials have the…

Instead of enrolling for four or more years to get a bachelor's degree, what if individuals could work their way toward a degree gradually? First, they would attend college or a trade school for six months or a year and earn a certificate that prepares them for an entry-level job in various fields. Then, they would pursue additional knowledge and…

In the past decade, various stakeholders in the public and private sectors in Hawai'i have sought to increase the state's investment in child care and early learning programs. A new Executive Office of Early Learning was established in June 2012 to build a statewide early childhood development and learning system. The state also established a…

The U.S. military services have traditionally used a tiering system, including education credentials such as high school diplomas, in combination with Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) scores to help gauge the likelihood of a recruit persevering through his or her first term of service. But what about less traditional credentials, such as…

In an effort to inform preschool policy in California, an interdisciplinary team of RAND researchers conducted a multiyear study of preschool education known as the California Preschool Study. One of the recommendations from that study was the need for a more in-depth analysis of the effectiveness of the early care and education (ECE) workforce…