High School Graduates Lack "Real-World" Skills

3 recent surveys conducted by Global Strategy Group highlight the discrepancy between what students are taught in school and the type of knowledge and skills they will actually need to be successful in life—or, at least, professionally.

The online surveys were conducted in June 2019 on representative samples in the United States. Unsurprisingly, only 41% of adults felt that what they learned in high school prepared them well for their current job. Among the things they wish they had been taught, but weren’t, the most important were related to personal finance (money management, tax filing). Likewise, while 82% of employers agreed that high school was a good preparation for college, only 59% thought it helped develop the skills needed to start a business.

To be fair, participants did find some of the typical high school curriculum a good preparation to enter the workforce—namely: math, tech and english skills. However, most deplored the general focus on subject matter expertise at the expense of “real-world skills.”

More precisely, the biggest gaps in current education related to: 

• Socio-emotional skills (e.g., tolerating unpleasant emotions)
• Organizational skills (e.g., time management)
• Self-management (e.g., autonomy, perseverance)
• Judgment and decision-making
• Communication
• Financial literacy

Logically, 72% of respondents were of the opinion that “radical” change was needed in education, and 90% thought that a modern high school experience should include some type of internship or job shadowing.

Reference: Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, "Vision of the Future: Research Findings", 2019.