College & Career Readiness is not just about College

It's also about the military.  One day last year, my assistant principal and I discussed the future of one of our more troubled and troublesome seniors (who ultimately failed to graduate in 2012).  This student had expressed to me a desire to enter the military, which would not have been a good option based on this student's behavior.  But my assistant principal commented that in light of defense cuts and the end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military can be much more selective about who they enlist, and our student would not make the cut.

In this article called "Shut Out of the Military: Today's High School Education Doesn't Mean You are Ready for Today's Army", The Education Trust argues that just as high schools aren't preparing students for college-level work, they also are not providing students with the skills they to pass the military enlistment test (the ASVAB) and pursue military service, and students of color are scoring much lower than their white peers.  The article states "Among white test-takers, 16 percent scored below the minimum score required by the Army. For Hispanic candidates, the rate of ineligibility was 29 percent.  And for African-American youth, it was 39 percent."  While this article does not provide any specific recommendations for strengthening high school programs or for preparing students for greater success on the ASVAB, it does call attention to the fact that the military may not be a viable post-secondary option for many students, especially those who (traditionally?  stereotypically?) are not college-bound.