Young adults aren’t seeing the value of postsecondary education. A new SCORE report highlights one way to help

A SCORE graphic shows that many Tennesseans believe the value of postsecondary education has decreased in recent years, despite state efforts to expand access to higher-ed and workforce development programs.

A new report from the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) notes that “too many Tennesseans are still not realizing the full economic benefits of their education,” despite the state’s efforts in recent years to expand access to higher education and workforce training.

According to the report, workforce participation in Tennessee has continued to decline in recent years, amid several initiatives aimed at expanding access to postsecondary programming, such as the Complete College Tennessee Act, the Tennessee Promise Scholarship, Gov. Bill Lee’s Investment in Vocational Education (GIVE) Act, ApprenticeshipTN, and the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) Act. It said that even with these investments, 55 percent of Tennesseans aged 18 to 24 believe the value of postsecondary has decreased in recent years.

“While more students are completing postsecondary education and training, their earnings vary widely based on the credential or degree they receive. Additionally, the state’s labor force participation rate — the number of Tennesseans working or looking for work — continues to decline despite significant economic growth and workforce opportunity statewide,” the report read. “These are clear signals that we must do more to better understand the ways in which education is (or is not) preparing students for jobs that enable economic independence.”

To help state education leaders address the issue, the SCORE report unveiled a framework for measuring the impact of post-secondary credentials. It noted that SCORE engaged for nearly a year in a “learning and alignment journey with K-12, postsecondary, industry, student support organizations, and government leaders from across the state” to identify potential Tennessee metrics that could measure credential impact, such as earnings, debt, minimum income, job outlook, sustainability, regional relevance, and workforce turnover.

“With this data, these measures can provide insights into whether a credential or degree program sets students on a pathway to success in the workforce. The expected earnings associated with a credential, for example, ensure that students can reach economic independence and a return-on-investment for the cost of the credential. Minimum income examines whether jobs connected to a credential lead to an income sufficient to meet basic standards of living. Job outlook — both short-term opportunities and long-term job growth — reveal how much a credential is aligned to job opportunities today and in the future,” the report said.

“Workforce turnover signals the likelihood a student may switch jobs in the workforce, while stackability and portability reveal how flexible a credential program is to transfer into other credentials or degrees or to translate across different industries,” the report continued. “Finally, job opportunities and wage levels vary across communities, so regional relevance provides a data perspective into how these measures may look at a local level compared to the state as a whole.”

The report said that through an analysis of existing data across these measures, SCORE identified three key impact measures in its framework to help orient education pathways around student success: Earnings, job outlook, and stackability.

The SCORE report also noted that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology places the cost of living in Tennessee at $43,196 in 2024. It said that in order for credentials to earn “2-Star or 3-Star” ratings in the framework, job earnings must meet 140 percent ($60,474) and 180 percent ($77,752) of the cost of living respectively, among other impact measurements.

Darrell Cobbins, a board member from the Tennessee State Board of Education, said during a Tuesday SCORE webinar that he believes SCORE’s new framework for measuring the impact of credentials could help “set common goals” among state education stakeholders and leaders.

“Whether you’re in government, whether you’re in the private sector, whether you’re policymakers, whether you’re industry, we all have a place that we sit along that spectrum,” he said. “Being able to have some common definitions, some common language, and some abilities to develop some common goals and strategies that we can measure is really important, and I think the framework helps us achieve that.”

Tennessee Higher Education Commission Executive Director Dr. Steven Gentile echoed that sentiment. He said he believes SCORE’s framework could be a valuable tool for measuring the impact of higher-ed and workforce programs moving forward.

“We know that workforce participation is higher for those that get degrees, but what do we know about specific credentials in actuality? This framework provides that lens,” he said.

To read the full report, visit www.tnscore.org.