For several decades, K–12 ed-reformers and policy leaders have pushed to expand public school options and pathways. This has led to the creation of such alternatives as magnet and charter schools, microschools and learning pods, as well as dual enrollment, course choice, beefed-up Advanced Placement, and the importing into high schools of industry credentials and youth apprenticeships.
A new analysis from the University of California, Berkeley Center for Studies in Higher Education underscores just how much the system has expanded, bringing confusion in its wake. Participation in everything from Advanced Placement to non-degree credentials to workforce training has grown significantly over time.
Multiple pathways are a major gain, shifting from a one-size-fits-all model toward something closer to what I call opportunity pluralism. In that sense, the Berkeley findings are encouraging. They show that the system has, in fact, diversified. Students are participating in a wider array of education and learning options than ever before.
The problem, the authors suggest, is fragmentation. The U.S. has built a far more diverse K–12 education and training system, but not a coherent one. And a system with many entry points but weak connections among them can leave students stranded.
Consider dual enrollment, now available in some form in every state and the District of Columbia. It allows students to earn college credit while in high school, often at little or no cost. In theory, it’s one of the most promising tools for accelerating progress and reducing the cost of higher education. In practice, however, it’s often “random acts of dual credit.” Students accumulate credits that don’t transfer, don’t count toward a major, or don’t align with a clear program of study. The pathway doesn’t reliably lead anywhere.
A similar pattern appears with “credentials.” Many programs are designed to be quick, flexible, and aligned with employer needs. But without clear signals about quality, without strong connections to jobs, and without pathways for further advancement, they’re isolated experiences rather than stepping stones.
Even traditional degrees aren’t immune. Too many students enroll in college without a clear sense of how their program connects to a career. Too many leave without completing that degree. And too many who do complete it struggle to translate education into rewarding and remunerative work.
The result is a system that offers more opportunities to enter but fewer reliable ways to advance.
The next phase of education reform should be about closing that gap, and that requires rethinking what success looks like. It’s not enough to measure whether students enroll in a program or complete a credential. The more important question is whether they move forward, into better jobs, higher earnings, and continued learning. And that, in turn, calls for a more coherent system built on sequencing and signaling.
Students need pathways that aren’t collections of courses or credentials but structured progressions. A high school course should connect to a postsecondary program, which should connect to a job, which should connect to further advancement. Each step should build on the last. Some call it “stacking.”
Coherence also demands clear signaling. Employers need to understand what a credential represents. Students need to know what it’s worth. Without such signals, even well-designed programs struggle to translate into opportunity.
These challenges aren’t new. But they’re becoming more urgent as policymakers invest in new forms of education and training.
States will play a central role here. They are best positioned to map regional labor markets, align education providers, and build the sequencing that connects high school to postsecondary programs and jobs.
Employers, too, have a critical role, especially in signaling. When they clearly communicate what credentials they value and why, they give students and program designers the information they need to make good choices. They also hold the key to stackablity. In a system where experience matters, employers aren’t only consumers of talent. They’re producers of it. Work-based learning, internships, and apprenticeships are not add-ons. They’re central to making pathways work.
Washington can support coherence by investing in data systems that track outcomes across education and work, by tying funding to performance, and by encouraging transparency about results.
For years, the central challenge in American education was expanding access. That work isn’t finished. But the challenge is ensuring that the system becomes more navigable, connected, and accountable.
