Maintaining America's Egalitarian Edge in the 21st Century: Unifying K-12 and Postsecondary Education for the Success of All Students

Abstract

Futurists, policy makers, and other stakeholders propose sweeping reforms of the American education system. However, there is little evidence that the current add-on, underfunded system will reverse the failure pattern among children of color and those living in poverty. This article presents a dramatic and feasible proposal to establish a collaborative learning community to improve all levels of education by combining the public schools and higher education. A unified education system would blend ongoing efforts in the PK–16 movement with International Baccalaureate, Advance Placement, and other public school–higher education links into a new seamless system with instruction, curriculum, and technology that would produce independent, productive learners in all racial and ethic groups beginning at age 3 and continuing though graduate education. The article reviews research efforts to build partnerships between public schools and higher education and ends with a futuristic scenario of a successful unified system in 2035.