1

Skills for the New Economy: Preparing Students for College and Careers

President Obama has encouraged all Americans to commit to at least one year of higher education or career 

training and has set the ambitious goal that America will have the highest proportion of college graduates in 

the world by 2020. Reaching this goal is crucial if we are to maintain our economic competitiveness. The 

United States is often outranked in the rigor and relevance of the education provided to young people in 

their middle and high school years, with many nations offering the opportunity to enroll in educational 

programs that develop more of the skills essential for college and career success. In a time of intense global 

economic competition and increasing income inequality, the United States must find innovative and costeffective ways to help students and adult learners gain the education and credentials they need to participate 

fully in our economy and society – recognizing that many lack the basic foundation skills necessary to do so.

The President’s 2015 budget request proposes investments that promote innovation and collaboration 

among secondary and postsecondary education, business and industry so that students gain the knowledge 

and skills they need to be successful in today’s economy.

 High School Redesign ($150 million). The budget supports a new competition that will fund 

competitive grants to school districts and their partners to redesign high schools in innovative ways 

that better prepare students for college and career success so that all students graduate from high 

school with college credit and career-related experiences or competencies, obtained through project 

or problem-based learning, real-world challenges, and organized internships and mentorships. 

Grantees would work to: (1) align academic content and instructional practices more closely with 

postsecondary education and careers; (2) personalize learning opportunities to support the 

educational needs and interests of individual students; (3) provide academic and wrap-around 

support services for those students who need them; (4) make available high-quality career and 

college exploration and counseling on options for students after high school graduation; (5) offer 

multiple opportunities to earn postsecondary credit while still in high school; and (6) strategically use 

learning time in more meaningful ways, such as through technology, a redesigned school day or 

calendar, or competency-based progressions.

 Skills Challenge Grants ($20 million). The budget provides an additional $20 million through the 

Adult Education program for competitive grants to partnerships—among States, adult education 

providers, institutions of higher education, private organizations, and industry—to support

innovative and effective adult education models. These grants would scale up evidence-based 

programs that combine basic skills education with training and improve alignment of services so that 

participants have access to high-quality programs that equip them with the skills necessary to find 

jobs in high-demand fields or transition into credit-bearing postsecondary education and training. 

 Improving students’ non-cognitive skills ($10 million). The President’s budget would provide 

competitive grants to district and research partnerships to improve students’ non-cognitive skills in 

the middle grades, which are foundational to students’ academic achievement and life success. The 

middle grades are a critical time in students’ academic trajectories: during this period, many children 

lose interest in, engagement with, and motivation for academic work, increasing the likelihood of 

dropping out of high school. This initiative would support the development and testing of noncognitive interventions, which research suggests can have as much, if not more, impact on students’ 

grades and perseverance than academic interventions.
2

 STEM Innovation Networks ($110 million). This program would provide competitive awards to 

LEAs in partnership with institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, other public 

agencies, and businesses to transform STEM teaching and learning by accelerating the adoption of 

practices in P-12 education that help increase the number of students who seek out and are 

effectively prepared for postsecondary education and careers in STEM fields.

 Reauthorized Perkins Career and Technical Education program ($1.1 billion). The President’s 

budget would fund a reauthorized Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. The 

reauthorization proposal will strengthen alignment among secondary and postsecondary CTE 

programs and business and industry; create a better accountability system for improving academic 

outcomes, technical skills, and employability outcomes; and provide competitive funding to promote 

innovation and reform in CTE. 

 Getting students through middle school and into college ($1.1 billion). This investment will 

support the GEAR UP and TRIO programs, which provide intensive services to students in middle 

school through college. GEAR UP, which serves students beginning in the middle grades, provides 

early college preparation and awareness activities to entire cohorts of students at individual schools 

to help them set on a path to higher education. The 2014 GEAR UP competition will encourage 

projects that provide students more customized college application and selection counseling and that 

are designed to assist students at risk of needing remediation. The TRIO programs, which include 

Upward Bound and Talent Search, play an important role in supporting low-income, first generation 

students’ access and success in postsecondary education. The 2015 request would continue the 

Department’s efforts to expand the reach of TRIO projects and expand their effects on schools that 

need the greatest help in sending more students on to college. 

 College Pathways and Accelerated Learning ($74.8 million). This program will increase 

graduation rates and college enrollment and success by providing college-level and other accelerated 

courses and instruction in low-income middle schools and high schools, including Advanced 

Placement and International Baccalaureate courses.