Nashville — Today, the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) convened leaders and highlighted a new report, Connecting Education & Opportunity: A Framework for Credential Impact in Tennessee, to begin analyzing how degrees and credentials unlock economic independence for Tennesseans.
“Tennessee has made significant progress over the last decade to increase the number of Tennesseans who have a postsecondary credential — from just 33% in 2013 up to 47.9% today,” said SCORE President and CEO David Mansouri. “However, a critical gap remains. We do not have a consistent way of knowing if those degrees and credentials are preparing students for careers that enable economic independence. Today, state leaders addressed how we can all work together and align around a common framework that will help set more students on a path to success.”
SCORE’s latest report unveils a credential impact framework that was informed by research and stakeholder input over the past year. The framework leverages data measures – annual earnings, job outlook, and stackability – to understand how a particular degree or credential connects to economic opportunity for students and economic prosperity for our state.
“Despite record-setting wage and opportunity growth, an increasing number of employers in our state say they are unable to meet their workforce needs,” said Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce Chief Talent Development Officer Stephanie Coleman. “Supporting more Tennessee students to earn the degrees and credentials aligned to employer need will ensure more employers can confidently come to Tennessee and that more Tennesseans are able to find career and life success.”
A 2022 SCORE poll found that most Tennesseans believe the primary purpose of postsecondary education is to prepare students for career opportunities, yet more than half of young Tennesseans question whether the education system prepares them for a job. At today’s event, leaders addressed how this new framework can help students have greater confidence in the outcomes of the credentials they earn, as well as how the framework can be applied across state policies, resources, and initiatives so that more students earn impact credentials.
Full report recommendations as well as the specifics of the framework are available at tnscore.org. A recording of today’s event is also available at tnscore.org.