K-12 & College Colliding?


 Living in Florida, I am used to keeping my head on a swivel. Hurricane season brings with it a heightened awareness of potential threats to the way life currently functions. Hurricane Ian serves as a strong reminder that the fall brings with it a heightened awareness of potential threats to the way life currently functions.

Looking at the landscape of education at the moment, the same may be said. There are three educational shifts I am seeing that are complementary and have the potential to substantially alter the landscape. Oddly enough, they are making K-12 and higher education more similar.
First, K-12 is shifting to operate more as a private market than as a fundamental public responsibility articulated in educational clauses of state constitutions. In practice this takes the shape of more schools in a community supported by taxpayers and scholarships to students who may use them at public and non-public schools – much like grants and loans in higher education.
Second, the continued debate on the extent to which, if at all, universities and colleges factor an applicant’s race/ethnicity in admissions is again underway in two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. While many are understandably focused on potential higher education impacts, the argument is being framed by some as extending beyond higher education to K-12 as well which may further free educational institutions across the K-20 continuum from judicial oversight.  (see excerpt from Council of the Great City Schools amicus curiae submission)
Third is the College Board's decision to not make AP test scores by state and race/ethnicity public. It makes one wonder if this signals a beginning where information that is collected by compliance and has been historically shared is no longer made available in public reports. This did not happen by happenstance or human error, it was a conscious business decision informed by high-level conversations.
So, this fall I find myself preparing for two potential storms, hoping it all unnecessary. I'll do this by first assembling my hurricane survival kit. And, second, strategizing for a future where early childhood, elementary, secondary and #highered all become imperfect markets where the consumer lacks access to the information/data it needs because companies deem it #intellectualproperty.

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