In Arizona, our nation鈥檚 48th state, that question is no longer rhetorical. 

Last year, the state took a bold and uncommon step: Leaders across early childhood, K-12, and higher education, workforce and economic development, business and industry, nonprofit, philanthropy and government came together to create a vision for what every Arizona graduate should know and be able to do by the time they earn a diploma. 

After 15 months and thousands of surveys and conversations, the result is the , a shared, statewide profile of success that reframes high school graduation as both a milestone and a launchpad 鈥� not the finish line.  

At its core, the profile makes two declarations: First, Arizona must redefine what students should achieve by the end of 12th grade to remain competitive; and second, educating our children is a shared responsibility 鈥�- beginning on day one.

The State 48 Graduate Profile defines readiness across four futures and eight essentials. It first calls out four equally viable and rigorous future outcomes that every Arizona graduate should be prepared to pursue: enrollment in college or postsecondary education, enlistment and service, employment and entrepreneurship. It then outlines eight essentials which acknowledge the enduring importance of academic knowledge and literacy while elevating the digital fluency, human skills and real-world competencies required in a rapidly changing, AI-accelerated economy.

With its statewide release, Arizona has set a new north star, from day one to diploma, for students, families, educators, employers and policymakers alike.

Technology and work here are advancing at gigabit speed. The state鈥檚 economy is thriving, and nearly every sector is evolving. But education seems to be stuck on dial-up. We are not making the progress we need: Graduation and post-secondary attainment rates fall well short of our stated goals. 

The challenge is not a lack of effort, innovation or even school choice 鈥� Arizona boasts some of the top performing K-12 and higher education institutions in the U.S. and is home to some of our nation鈥檚 most talented educators. At the core, Arizona鈥檚 challenge is a lack of a shared vision and direction. Without agreement on what success looks like, it is all but impossible to make progress here. 

The State 48 Graduate Profile is Arizona鈥檚 response to that challenge. It is a common definition of success around which an entire state can align and, ultimately, begin to modernize our education system to meet the needs of our students, families and economy. 

Getting there required a fundamental shift in how the problem was framed.

From the outset, leaders involved in the effort made a deliberate decision to set aside the debates that so often derail progress in Arizona: funding, school choice, accountability, and governance models. Those conversations matter, but they are nearly impossible to resolve without first answering a more foundational question: What do we want for our children?

The conclusion was clear: The traditional version of school most of our children now attend and we once experienced 鈥� what we call School 1.0 鈥� was built for a different era. That world no longer exists. Neither should that version of school. Arizona needs to start with School 2.0 today and pursue even more boldly School 3.0 tomorrow. Modernizing and even futurizing our education system requires a new vision, not only for learning but also for how we organize ourselves to get there.

That reframing catalyzed a movement.

In late 2023, a small group of school superintendents, college presidents, CEOs and nonprofit and philanthropic leaders convened as H5: a coalition focused on the intersection of high school, higher education and the high-skill, high-demand, high-wage workforce of the future.

Two years later, the coalition has grown to include more than 200 organizations representing every county in Arizona. Its scope now spans early childhood, PK鈥�12, community colleges, universities, business and industry, workforce and economic development, faith-based and nonprofit organizations, military, government, and philanthropy. 

Just as important as its size is its diversity: Indigenous, rural, urban, and suburban communities are represented. Leaders from the wealthiest ZIP codes work with those from the most under-resourced. Republicans, Democrats, and Independents share tables at coalition convenings. Competing institutions temporarily suspend individual agendas to focus on a shared future for Arizona鈥檚 children.

Perhaps most notably, leaders from traditional school districts charters, private schools, career and technical schools, and micro schools 鈥� often divided in public discourse 鈥� come together to solve Arizona鈥檚 biggest challenge.

While convening senior leaders from across sectors, the effort also centered the voices and lived experiences of students, parents, educators, employers and community members. Over 15 months, thousands of Arizonans were surveyed, and hundreds of focus groups, summits and listening sessions were held. Workforce trends, industry needs, and emerging technologies 鈥� including artificial intelligence 鈥� were studied alongside community aspirations.

The State 48 Graduate Profile is the synthesis of that work.

Publishing a statewide graduate profile is a significant milestone, but it is not the destination. The real work now shifts from design to adoption: building awareness, galvanizing support and driving alignment across every corner of Arizona. 

In practice, what will that look like? 

Childcare providers weaving the profile into kindergarten readiness. PK-12 systems embedding it into curriculum, instruction, advising and accountability. Out-of-school programs reinforcing mindsets, habits and skills beyond the classroom. Higher education and industry evolving credentials, internships and work-based learning around the same vision. Government agencies and philanthropy aligning policies and investments to this shared north star.

Additional tools are on the horizon: a statewide playbook called Permission Granted, a push for a regulatory sandbox to support innovation, evolving AI guidance, and other efforts to help Arizona move from ideas to impact. Students, parents, educators and employers will be involved every step of the way. 

This work won鈥檛 be quick, and it won鈥檛 be owned by any single entity or sector. As educators, employers, communities and institutions align around the profile, it will become part of our state鈥檚 DNA, shaping the learning experiences of Arizona鈥檚 youth from day one to diploma and strengthening the state鈥檚 economy and competitive advantage. 

Washington will have more than 1.5 million job openings in the next eight years but it鈥檚 not currently training enough people to fill them.

a nonprofit run by Washington business leaders, found that the state needs about 600,000 more workers with postsecondary credentials than it is on pace to have. At the same time, the number of workers with high school diplomas, or less, will outpace the jobs available to them, leaving those fields more competitive.

鈥淲ashington鈥檚 education and training systems are not producing talent with the right skills at the right levels to keep pace,鈥� said Marc Casale, founder and CEO of Kinetic West, which led the research for the report.

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Washington鈥檚 job growth is expected to be 12.8% through 2032, compared to 2.8% nationally. Of the 1.5 million job openings through 2032, about 640,000 are new jobs and 910,000 are from retirements.

That means Washington not only needs to scale up training for new types of jobs but also for current ones that will lose employees, Casale said.

Three quarters of those jobs will require some postsecondary credentials, and 45% will require at least a bachelor鈥檚 degree.

Washington will also have about 639,000 uncredentialed workers, but not enough jobs for them to fill, leaving about a quarter million workers with few employment options, according to the report.

Counting on migration from other states is not enough to meet the job gaps, Casale said, so the state must do more to train its workforce.

To meet the growing gap, the report includes five recommendations that the state should prioritize.

The first and most important is increasing the number of people receiving bachelor鈥檚 degrees in Washington, said Brian Jeffries, policy director at the roundtable.

To do so, the state should find ways to fill open capacity at its colleges and universities, especially at regional branches and online campuses. This could be done through more guaranteed admissions programs and financial aid resources. Washington should also look at expanding applied bachelor鈥檚 programs and direct transfer opportunities at community and technical colleges.

Other recommendations include prioritizing enrollment and completion of apprenticeships, training in high-demand jobs and supporting more employer-led training programs. Jeffries said he wants the Legislature to continue investing in workforce development programs that encourage employers to take part in training their employees.

Training and education opportunities should focus on occupations with the highest need. Over the next eight years, those are likely to be in advanced computing, construction and skilled trades, clean technology, health care, business and management, and education.

Another recommendation is to provide more opportunities for K-12 students to earn postsecondary credits and to prepare for life after high school.

Part of that will come from an overhaul in the state鈥檚 graduation requirements, which the State Board of Education is preparing to do over the next few years, Jeffries said. He said the business leaders should be part of that process to make sure high school graduation requirements align with what postsecondary schools require.

Central Washington University President Jim Wohlpart said he thinks of the workforce challenge as an opportunity for the state to rethink its curriculum and higher education system to create clear pathways through higher education and into the workforce.

鈥淲e need to embed college in the high school so that the transition from high school into post secondary education is as seamless as middle school to high school,鈥� Wohlpart said.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Washington State Standard maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Bill Lucia for questions: info@washingtonstatestandard.com. Follow Washington State Standard on and .

The study followed 23,000 students starting with their freshman year of high school in 2009. Though 74% enrolled in college after graduating, almost half didn鈥檛 receive any postsecondary credential by June 2021. They are the fifth group the NCES has tracked for postsecondary outcomes, but the first cohort it began tracking in ninth grade. The studies allow researchers and policymakers to have a better understanding of students鈥� educational experiences beyond high school.

The previous group of 2002 graduates had a higher college enrollment rate, at 84%, and a completion rate of 52%. Though the study doesn鈥檛 include direct insight from students about why they may not have finished their education, it does give a snapshot of graduating seniors during that time. The 2013 cohort鈥檚 diverse set of characteristics such as their gender, race and income, paired with the economy, likely played a role. Additionally, students who were still in school at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 likely had their learning disrupted.

Elise Christopher, director of the NCES longitudinal studies, says the 2008 Great Recession could have influenced how this cohort thought about life after graduation and entering the workforce. She also points out that the No Child Left Behind Act could have had an effect.

When the study was being designed in the early 2000s, there was a lot of policy focused on degrees and careers in science, technology, engineering and math. But, Christopher says, No Child Left Behind strongly emphasized math and reading, which put it at odds with the STEM pipeline push. The new study found that students who attended postsecondary education in the 2013 cohort mostly pursued degrees in non-STEM fields. Over 80% of students who earned a degree were in an unrelated field. Of the males who completed their higher education, nearly 30% were in STEM fields, as were nearly 14% of females. By race, Asian students had the highest percentage of STEM degrees and certificates, at nearly 34%.

Among the students who enrolled in postsecondary education, more than half were female. Thirty-nine percent of them earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree and 32% attained no credential. Though male students had a lower enrollment rate, at 44%, 38% similarly earned bachelor鈥檚 degrees.

The study also examined students by race. Although white students had the highest enrollment rate (53%), Asian students were the top earners of bachelor鈥檚 degrees, at 56%. Hispanic and Black students had the second-and third-highest enrollment rates, though far behind white students, at 20% and 12%, respectively. Despite pursuing higher education, 46% of Hispanic students and 56% of Black students earned no postsecondary credential.

The NCES also looked at the income and education levels of the students鈥� parents. About 80% of those whose families earned more than $115,000 completed their degree or credential, in comparison to 49% of students whose families earned under $35,000. Of students whose parents had a high school education or lower, nearly 40% didn鈥檛 pursue higher learning after graduation.

鈥淚t’s very important to understand what’s happening in ninth grade,鈥� Christopher said. 鈥淏ut we really don’t know the full measure of those impacts of those educational experiences until we get these long-term outcome data.鈥�

The report from and the surveyed more than 14,000 respondents in the fall of 2023 鈥� including about 6,000 enrolled college students, 5,000 students who left college and 3,000 adults who never enrolled.

More than 40 percent of Black and Latino students considered leaving compared to 30 percent of white students 鈥� with stress, mental health and cost leading the reasons why.

鈥淭he fact that stress and mental health concerns continue to be the number one concern for Black and Latino students is alarming,鈥� said Dr. Courtney Brown, vice president of impact and planning at the Lumina Foundation. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something we need to pay attention to because it鈥檚 almost like a cry for help for [postsecondary] institutions to do something about this.鈥� 

Brown said Black and Latino adults鈥� enthusiasm for enrolling in a traditional four-year college has waned in comparison to certificate and associate degree pathways.

Most recent enrollment gains were carried by community colleges with a vocational program focus compared to those with a transfer focus.

鈥淏lack and Latino adults recognize the cost is high and their time is limited,鈥� said Brown. 鈥淪o if they can invest in something like a certificate or associate degree that gets them into the workforce as fast as possible it makes more sense.鈥�

Here are four key takeaways from the report:

1. Black and Latino students are more likely to leave postsecondary programs than their white peers.

More than 40 percent of Black and Latino students were likely to consider leaving college compared to about 30 percent of white students.

Black students experienced slight improvement compared to 2022 but their likelihood of leaving remained higher than 2021 and 2020.

Latino students also saw improvement compared to 2022 returning them to similar levels in 2020.

2. Emotional stress, mental health and cost are consistent reasons across racial groups for why current students considered leaving their postsecondary programs.

More than 50 percent of students said stress was their biggest reason to consider leaving college 鈥� followed by mental health and cost by more than 40 and 30 percent respectively. 

Brown said Black and Latino students are more likely than white students to balance coursework with a part or full time job in addition to taking care of family members.

鈥淎ll of these students greatly value getting a degree and understand how important it is, but all these things accelerate their stress level,鈥� Brown said. 

She added how the competing priorities in their lives influence their desire to leave their postsecondary education to join the workforce and earn income faster.

鈥淏lack and Latino students often don鈥檛 have the money to actually enroll or stay enrolled,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淪o it becomes hard for them when they can get a job but the opportunity is lost because they鈥檙e in class.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 short-sighted and they end up losing that opportunity cost because with a degree they would be able to get a better job in the long-term,鈥� she added.

3. Black and Latino adults who have considered enrolling in a postsecondary program are largely interested in certificate and associate pathways.

Nearly six in 10 unenrolled adults have considered enrolling in a postsecondary program in the past two years.

But, Black and Latino adults are more likely to consider a certificate or associate program compared to a slightly smaller number who have considered a bachelor鈥檚 degree. 

Brown said postsecondary institutions can help Black and Latino students who have difficulty working towards a bachelor鈥檚 degree by providing resources such as healthcare, mental health services and childcare facilities.

鈥淎 bachelor鈥檚 degree is a lot more involved and it鈥檚 going to take a few years minimum if you鈥檙e going full time,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淪o providing these services will give them a leg up to completion.鈥�

4. Financial aid and scholarships hold larger importance to Black and Latino adults than their white peers.

Nearly 60 percent of Black and Latino adults said financial aid and scholarships are important to get them to enroll in a postsecondary program in the next year compared to about 50 percent of white adults.

Also, more than 40 percent of Black and Latino adults said emergency aid would influence their enrollment compared to about 30 percent of white adults.

鈥淚 hope this data becomes a call to action for [postsecondary] institutions,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淭heir attainment rate is very low because our system has failed them again and again, so we can and must do better.鈥�

Yet, despite states鈥� best efforts, data about postsecondary success is alarming. One found that 56% of Americans think earning a four-year degree is not worth the cost. Skepticism about higher education is rising, . So how do policymakers and education leaders prepare students for the future in a time of exceptional academic challenges across all grade levels?

By integrating college classes into high school. This reduces cost and improves outcomes.

This is a moment when America needs to reimagine the K-12 experience, remove barriers to higher ed and achieve K-16 results with K-12 dollars.

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It starts with the college readiness exam. At , the network of public charter schools that I run in Indiana and Louisiana, every high school student 鈥� all of whom live in high-poverty areas 鈥� takes a college entrance exam for free, starting in ninth grade. If they pass, they鈥檙e enrolled in classes immediately at a local college or university, starting in their first year in high school, alongside their traditional 9-12 curriculum. If they don鈥檛 pass, we prepare them until they do.

Having all students take college readiness exams, such as the College Board’s , provides each one with an academic roadmap, telling educators the kind of support they need for college preparedness. Then, our K-16 model provides transportation to our partner community and four-year colleges. This exposes students who otherwise might never have even considered getting a higher degree to college classes on real college campuses, with other college-level students.

All this 鈥� the cost of exams, registration, tuition, textbooks and transportation 鈥� is covered by our network through existing funding, without any added expense to taxpayers.

We deliver K-16 outcomes on K-12 dollars.

Experiencing college provides unquestionable social benefits for high school students, particularly those who come from low-income backgrounds. As college enrollment declines, learning how to navigate higher education while in high school makes it likelier that students will attain a degree, because college classes and campus life aren鈥檛 foreign to them. It鈥檚 a seamless transition.

There鈥檚 a financial benefit to our students as well. Working toward a high school diploma and a degree simultaneously means students will take on no debt while earning college credit, making them more likely to gain a degree while saving them precious dollars in the process.

What are the academic outcomes? This May, GEO Academies will graduate 22 students who will have earned a college degree before they receive their high school diploma. Last year, one of our students, who began taking college classes at age 11, completed his associate degree by age 13 鈥� the youngest in Indiana to do that. He will complete a full bachelor鈥檚 degree while in high school, our third student to achieve this goal, by the time he turns 15.

The numbers speak for themselves. The graduation rate at our Gary school, 21st Century Charter School, is 22 points higher than the district average (94.5% versus 72.8%) and even surpasses the state鈥檚 overall average of 86.5%. Our college and career readiness rating, as calculated by the Indiana Department of Education, is 50 points higher than the district’s (88.9%, compared with 37.6%) and again beats the state average (68.1%).

Louisiana does not track college and career readiness like Indiana does, but it did report that just 159 of 42,650 graduates in 2019 received associate degrees while in high school. This year, we will have our first graduating class, with 10% of our 60 seniors earning an associate degree.

Integrating college classes into the high school experience for all students is truly a scalable model that is yielding game-changing results for high-poverty children. But the barriers to doing so are clear: It requires policymakers to rethink what it means to go to high school and reimagine higher education as part of an educational continuum for students.

Reinventing the high school experience requires bold thinking.

Fortunately, America has the funding to be innovative. Tens of billions of have gone unspent, and many states and districts 鈥� so often risk-averse 鈥� can capitalize on this moment as an opportunity to reimagine the high school experience.聽

As policymakers search for answers to accelerate learning, they should look to students in schools in Gary, Indianapolis, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Our schools are showing why college has never been more important and are providing the blueprint for integrating college credits into the high school experience.

For example, 39 million Americans have a traditional degree program, leaving them little chance to recoup their investment. Only half of students who began a four-year degree in 2012 at the same school. Despite progress in recent decades, large disparities in completion rates remain based on and .

Even those who earn a degree may not get the value they鈥檙e expecting. found that 25% of bachelor鈥檚 degree programs took more than 10 years to pay back their net cost to students 鈥� and even worse, 10% never broke even. Because few schools make this information easily available, most students do not know their odds when choosing where to enroll.

The financial consequences of betting wrong can be devastating. Americans hold a combined $1.76 trillion in college debt. An estimated $280 billion belongs to individuals who didn鈥檛 finish the postsecondary pathway they started, whether it was a traditional degree or one of the growing number of non-degree options. within five years of dropping out 鈥� and neither did 33% of students who did complete their program. That debt burden disproportionately affects and students.

This is not to say that traditional higher education lacks value. But that value isn鈥檛 distributed consistently, equitably or transparently 鈥� a fundamental problem that gets lost amid the intense focus on cost and debt. The postsecondary system must do a better job of equipping people to make informed choices that fit their life goals and circumstances.

That power of choice is the foundation of , our newest Beta by Bellwether initiative. We are working with a diverse group of stakeholders to explore how three enablers of choice 鈥� information, navigation and options 鈥� can be levers for transforming education beyond K-12.

Information: Anyone pursuing education after high school needs clear, timely, accessible, customizable, comparable and credible information that helps answer the questions 鈥淲hat do I want to be?鈥� and 鈥淲hich path will best help me succeed in that pursuit?鈥� We have identified 10 specific elements of information that people need to exercise their power of choice. These include tools and opportunities that help them understand their strengths and interests, learn about a broad range of professional possibilities and understand the requirements and advancement opportunities in specific professions. It also includes details about programs that could prepare them for their chosen pursuit: admission requirements, true cost, completion rates and the likelihood of seeing the expected return. 

Much of this information already exists, but it’s rarely brought together in a timely, easy-to-use form. This lack of transparency is a choice made by postsecondary institutions 鈥� the problem isn’t data science so much as political science. Leaders need to summon the political will to ensure the public can access relevant information to drive choice, performance and accountability.

Navigation: Many individuals find simply having information is not sufficient for choosing a degree or credential program. Navigating such a complex system requires a network of social capital that people with privilege commonly have and those from systemically marginalized communities often lack: trusted, informed and unbiased advisers to support them in making choices. The messenger can be as important as the message; without the right messenger, critical information might never be delivered or misunderstood.

This navigation support can come from parents and family, peers, teachers, dedicated advisers, community leaders and people in prominent and influential roles in society. It can even come from examples shared by strangers who inspire and inform. Technology can play an important part in extending the reach of these navigators 鈥� and a growing number of platforms already provide support directly to students and equip navigators with the information they need.

Options: Meaningful choice also requires versatile, inclusive, high-quality pathway options. People need opportunities to advance professionally and personally throughout their lives 鈥� not just right after high school 鈥� as their interests, goals and circumstances evolve. The number and variety of postsecondary options is already growing rapidly: , with a net growth of 109,000 that year alone. Only 234,000 of these were traditional degree programs, with the remaining 843,000 representing options such as credentials, certificates, badges, assessments, apprenticeships, licenses and work portfolios.

Some of these newer options are tailored for specific populations, such as people already in the workforce who haven鈥檛 yet earned a degree or credential. Some focus on specific approaches, such as on-the-job training. Many offer an increasingly necessary way for people to advance or change their career as technology and the labor market shift the nature of their work. However, this proliferation of new options heightens the importance of helping individuals find the ones that provide real value: 42% of nondegree programs in Third Way鈥檚 analysis didn鈥檛 increase participants’ earnings enough for them to recoup the net cost.

These three enablers of choice, working well and working together, cannot address every challenge the postsecondary system faces today. But they represent a dramatic improvement. By prioritizing them, leaders and policymakers can help ensure that more Americans can pursue education beyond K-12 knowing it鈥檚 a wise choice rather than the current game of chance.

Disclosure: Andy Rotherham co-founded Bellwether Education Partners. He sits on 社区黑料鈥檚 board of directors.

While the divides seem stark between red states and blue, policy leaders and practitioners from Texas to Tennessee and California to Colorado are collaborating to create innovative career pathways for students. 

In my home state of Delaware, we鈥檙e constantly learning from those other states. John Fitzpatrick, executive director of , serves on the board at my nonprofit, Rodel, and has urged the nation to rethink early college high schools and the expansion of Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools (), in which students earn credit toward an associate degree and hands-on work experience in high-demand, high-wage careers. I serve as an adviser to some exciting work that is leading called , in collaboration with the Colorado Department of Higher Education. This initiative recognizes that not all students want or need to graduate high school in four years and provides scholarships for college courses and high-demand certificate programs. More formally, the nonprofit skill-building organization has created , in which , from blue California to red Tennessee, learn with, and from, one another.  

What are the products of these collaborations? Students gaining meaningful work experience through internships, apprenticeships and completed college coursework or certifications before they鈥檙e 18. These pathways 鈥� a combination of targeted in-school curriculum and outside, real-world experiences 鈥� are aligned with broad sectors like health care or information technology. For example, as is big in my state, a new LLC under Rodel called the is building stronger connections among employers, training providers and high schools. The work is so popular that it has grown from 27 students in 2015, to over 26,000, or more than half of the state’s high schoolers, in 2022. 

These efforts include traditional vocational education but are meant for all kids, regardless of what they want to do after high school. Pathways are not about locking a young person into a career choice at age 14; rather, about helping them make better-informed choices. But as the hard lines between school and work soften 鈥� what Jobs for the Future calls the 鈥� career exploration is starting earlier and is expanding into middle school.

This reflects a historic shift. In 1910, about 7% of Americans had a high school diploma. By 1940, that figure approached 70%, giving the U.S. the best-educated workforce in the world for much of the 20th century. But many countries have caught up or surpassed us, and a high school diploma isn’t enough anymore. Economists project that by 2027, 70% of family-sustaining careers will require a degree or certification beyond high school. 

Even before the pandemic, the pathways idea was gaining steam. Young people want agency over when, how, what and where they learn. Pathways give them a chance to learn important people skills, and to figure out what they want to do (and don鈥檛 want to do).  

Pathways make sense to parents as well. Given the cost of college, families like the idea of their kids getting up to 15 college credits while still in high school and making sound postsecondary decisions to avoid dropping out with .  

Building seamless connections among business, high schools and colleges helps young people and their parents struggling to navigate smart postsecondary decisions, and it helps employers struggling to . And a well-built pathway for an 18-year-old can also work for a 48-year-old looking to update needed work skills. It鈥檚 a policy two-fer.

What to do with this common ground? At the federal level, policymakers can set some North Stars. For example, what would it take to increase apprenticeships tenfold? There are only 440,000 registered apprentices in the U.S. today. If America created as many apprenticeships as a share of its labor force as England, Australia and Canada, that number would climb to . 

Similarly, although a growing number of good jobs do not require a four-year degree, federal funds tend to heavily favor bachelor鈥檚 degree attainment over other training models. Deepening investments in one- and two-year certification and degree programs would not only even the playing field for new entrants, but aid millions of mid-career professionals. The upcoming of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act presents an opportunity to remedy this.

At the state level, governors and legislatures have a unique opportunity to not only advance an issue that鈥檚 good for students and their states, but for the country. Leveraging 50 state-level experiments could create a national conversation to jump-start America鈥檚 reinvention and add to the international discourse on how to provide all young people with a fair shot at a meaningful career and a good life.