DATE: Friday, May 9, 1997                   TAG: 9705090708

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B8   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   55 lines

COLLEGE PREP ISN'T THE ONLY WAY, PANEL SAYS

Most people will need a higher education to get work in the future, but that doesn't necessarily mean attending classes behind the ivy-covered walls of a college, a commission was told Thursday.

Instead, it can mean any learning beyond high school - community college, technical school or an apprenticeship, for example.

In its report to the Commission on the Future of Public Education in Virginia, a subcommittee on student options said vocational and technical education have been pushed aside in favor of academic programs.

That, said the subcommittee, limits the choices of students leaving high school.

Robert L. Meredith, subcommittee co-chairman and a human resources director for Union Camp, said public schools' emphasis on college preparation has increased steadily over the years.

``In the 1940s, 10,000 students took the SAT. In 1995 alone, that figure has increased to over one million,'' he said. The Scholastic Assessment Test is required by most colleges for admittance.

But a college education is no guarantee of a job. State and national research shows that 70 percent of future jobs will require education beyond high school - but not a college degree.

The subcommittee said that to prepare students better, public schools should raise vocational and career-planning programs to the same level of importance as academic programs.

``The public school system must be based on the belief that college attendance and vocational education are complementary, and not mutually exclusive,'' Meredith said.

The subcommittee said parents, students, teachers, administrators and businesses need to be involved to ensure that students have an adequate grounding in the basic skills of reading, writing, mathematics, critical thinking and working with others. In addition, students need exposure to options beyond high school other than college.

Because of the vast difference in the sizes, demographic makeup and wealth of the state's school districts, the subcommittee avoided a one-size-fits-all approach.

``The subcommittee has . . . avoided costly new local mandates in favor of revisions of current programs, voluntary initiatives, state activities and minimal costs,'' said state Sen. Emily Couric, D-Charlottesville, subcommittee chairwoman.

Commission member Gordon K. Davies, executive director of the State Council of Higher Education, said the importance of education past high school cannot be overemphasized.

``In Virginia, 72 percent of our high school graduates go on to some form of advanced degree. . . . The other 28 percent are going to become a burden on society in the future,'' he said. KEYWORDS: STUDY HIGHER EDUCATION

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