The Path to Prosperity: A Policy of Investment

Creating a talented workforce is a key strategy in gaining a competitive advantage for regional economies in the United States and abroad.  With heightened competition for public resources, an invigorated federal-state effort investing in human capital-building enterprises will increase states' capacity while enhancing personal and societal prosperity.

With intense competition at the forefront of the global knowledge-based economy, the United States must embrace a strategy of building a skilled workforce.  In the New Economy, the flow of capital - in all its forms- coalesces around regions that have high concentrations of talent.  Despite evidence that skilled workers are a vital element of regional economic prosperity, access to and the affordability of quality higher education has eroded.  This is due to reduced investment by states and the federal government, as well as heightened cost pressures of college and university operations. More visibility must be raised of the connection between state and regional workforce capacity and economic and social prosperity, and the cycle of growth that is created by public investment in higher education.

Update on Advanced Placement

As Advanced Placement coursework emerges as an instrument of public policy, educators and policymakers need to understand the facts, to set realistic expectations, and to engage in activities that promote positive outcomes.

Context

When the College Board initiated the Advanced Placement (AP) Program in 1955, its potential as a public policy tool was yet to be imagined. For much of its history, the program focused on academically accomplished high school students who were college-bound. It offered these students the opportunity to earn college credit, be placed in advanced-level college courses, or both—if they could demonstrate sufficient knowledge through AP exams.

Though the basic AP approach has remained the same, societal changes have catapulted the program into the public policy arena. The emergence of a global economy and the rapid pace of technological change have beckoned the need for a far greater number of workers with postsecondary credentials in the United States. Among the most critical variables that contribute to postsecondary success is the completion of a rigorous high school curriculum. Growing concerns about the shortcomings of the nation’s K-12 system have led educators and policymakers to implement a variety of strategies to promote academic rigor and success for all high school students.