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.
