The new world of work demands not only academic knowledge and skills but also transferable skills such as communications, creativity, and collaboration--skills that are rarely captured formally. Meeting that demand will require a new approach to the high school diploma. The opportunity is ripe to redesign credentials to enable competency-based…

In the last two decades, we have witnessed a rapid expansion of higher education in Mainland China and Taiwan, recording a significant increase in higher education enrolments in these two Chinese societies. The massification of higher education in China and Taiwan has inevitably resulted in an oversupply of university graduates, with growing…

Contemporary test-based reforms are often grounded in the claim that test performance is the key to international economic competitiveness. However, this oft-repeated assertion lacks empirical support. According to the World Economic Forum, the United States' recent loss of economic competitiveness standing is due to macroeconomic instability…

Decades ago, most U.S. companies hired locally, few jobs required a college education and even high school dropouts could find well-paying work. However, the world has changed. With automation and overseas outsourcing eliminating many low-skilled jobs--and, increasingly, many higher-skilled ones--more and more Americans need postsecondary…

The emergence of a global knowledge-based economy has given rise to drastic changes in both higher education and employment. On one hand, governments in advanced societies have launched policies to expand higher education to compete internationally in educating and attracting highly skilled workers. At the same time, both global economic…

Today's students--as exemplified by the three inspiring people on this report--are a remarkably diverse group with unlimited potential. America is home to tens of millions of these 21st century students, and their success is vital to the nation's future. For the United States to thrive in the rapidly changing global economy, the full potential of…

The career and technical education (CTE) programs play critical roles in the growth of workforce readiness credentials. This article presents an ACTE issue brief that highlighting the need for workforce readiness credentials, and the role CTE plays in helping students acquire them. CTE is at the forefront of preparing students at all levels for…