Quentin Suffren is the Senior Advisor of Innovation Policy for ExcelinEd.
U.S. high school students earn hundreds of thousands of credentials each year as part of state career and technical education (CTE) programs. Unfortunately, Credentials Matter confirmed the information and data on the effectiveness of these credentials is extremely limited in most states, if it even exists at all.
While there is a great deal of improvement needed in data collection, much can be learned from the nearly 800,000 earned credentials collected and analyzed by Credentials Matter. Some states have clear criteria and include workforce demand for identifying their promoted credentials. Other states include almost any measure of career-related knowledge regardless of whether they carry weight in the labor market.
Credentials Matter identified five credential types based on how they interact with labor market demand using employer signaling, industry validation mechanisms and state regulation as filters. These five types provide the framework for analyzing alignment to determine how a state is preparing students for the workforce demand in their state.
Determining value for a credential based on labor market demand is not straightforward. Some credentials may be in high demand but in occupations that pay less than a living wage or that are projected to decline over time. Other credentials may show low labor market demand, but are still essential for career advancement.
Credentials Matter provides a detailed breakdown of the top credentials earned and demanded for each of the five credential types nationally and by state. The following key findings barely scratch the surface.
State programs should place more emphasis on the capstone credentials that are most demanded by employers and less emphasis on credentials that may signal specific underlying skill sets or competencies but do not provide students with an advantage in terms of employment, wages and career advancement.
Credentials Matter is a critical first step to understanding the current credentials landscape across the U.S. so stakeholders can build better career education systems for students. Learn more at CredentialsMatter.org.
Visit CredentialsMatter.org to explore interactive maps and data tables and to learn more.
View the Credentials Matter report to examine the analysis’s approach, findings and recommendations.
Credentials Matter is an ongoing research partnership between ExcelinEd and Burning Glass Technologies designed to shed light on the landscape of industry credential data collection and alignment across the country. The project provides insight into how industry credentials earned by high school students align with workforce demand in each state to inform education system improvements and state data collection practices. Visit ExcelinEd.org/CredentialsMatter for more information.