Expansive MetLife Research Shows Divergent Views on Pathway to College

The MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: Preparing Students for College and Careers, a substantial majority of teachers, parents, and Fortune 1000 executives believe that one of the nation’s highest priorities in education should be preparing secondary students for college and career success. The survey is the 27th in an annual series. The first of two reports from this year’s survey, Part 1: Clearing the Path, released last month, looks at the implications of ensuring all secondary students are college- and career-ready.

Despite agreement overall on the importance of college- and career-readiness, the survey reveals that not everyone prioritizes it in the same way. Although large numbers of secondary school teachers (85 percent), secondary school parents (93 percent) and executives (80 percent) believe that graduating each and every student from high school ready for college and a career should be a priority, views differ on how high a priority. As a group, parents (73 percent) are the most likely to say the goal “must be accomplished as one of the highest priorities in education,” in contrast to about half of teachers (54 percent) and executives (48 percent).

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