This question continues to be asked but too often it is somebody trying to find some excuse to dumb down curriculum or create pathways for students to graduate from high school without the rigor or what have come to be referred to as 21st century skills necessary to assure success in a fast-paced, rapidly changing competitive environment of the future. We really should stop asking this question and put our energy and thought into determining the best ways to develop the skills and knowledge that all students need to compete, whether at college, in business or in some other part of the work force. All students should graduate from high school with a basic set of core abilities that would allow them to pursue a college education or to successfully compete in whatever they determine is an exciting and challenging path way to success for themselves.

Department of labor statistics tell us that less than 30% of jobs require a college degree but approximately 60% of jobs demand some form of training post-secondary. Rather than preparing all students to go to college we need to help students identify a career path and give them the tools to successfully complete the post-secondary training needed to succeed.

Over the past 30 some years I have taught technical courses, from woodworking and machine shop to welding and computer aided drawing. During this time technology has greatly changed and many of those highly skilled career areas have gone to other countries, but at the same time new highly skilled technology based careers have evolved with many not necessarily needing a four-year degree. Presently about 30% of my students go on to a four year college, many in engineering fields that did not exist a few years ago. Of my remaining students about 50% head to the community college with the intent to transfer to a State four-year school for a Bachelor's degree of some sort. The other 20% they head to the military because they have guaranteed schooling and the job situation is bleak, head to a two year technical certificate program, or they are part an even smaller group that just finds some low level service related job (not a real career). As the economy of the United States has changed, we have created many service related jobs that do not require a four year degree, but require highly skilled training that require success in those basic skills, reading, writing, mathematics and now computer literacy. Those technological wonders, computers have been in the classroom for more than a generation now and there are still teachers around us that are hesitant or resistant to the integration of technology in their courses and course work.
There will always be a need for those four-year degree programs as well as Masters and Doctoral programs, but it is the highly skilled technology based future (and many Green)careers that will continue to be the backbone of our economy. As farming has gone high-tech so has many other careers. We need to make sure that middle-school and high school students get some career exploration in their general education as well as electives that will foster further exploration into those technical areas that have just developed or have not even been thought about.
Do some students need to go to college? Yes. Should all students go to college? Maybe. The better question is; Should all students be prepared to continue a life long learning with some career exploration and focus? YES!

I have a degree in Physics, but when I needed to have my car repaired, I took it to a shop where the mechanics were graduates of technical schools. I know the theory of how an automobile moves, but the automotive technicians knew how to change the drive belts.

A college degree opens up different opportunities, and may open up more, but there are well paying career fields available to non college graduates. The key is learning how to learn so you can succeed in a technical school, college, an apprentichip program, the military ...

Let's face it! The world is changing and in a time with an increasing number of college educated degree holders now in the unemployment line, college might not be the answer for all young people. I have been in and out of work myself, but one thing I have always had is my education. It is the thing that never goes away. Engaged parents must honestly evalute which paths are going to best serve their children. A struggling learner in high school may become even more challenged at the college level. Dropping out can might them feel more of a failure and sink into a depression that never goes away. These students need to feel some successes some wins to reconnect them with learning. The service, trade schools or progressive apprentise opportunities maybe a better fit. Real education takes place in the real world and the real world of work is not what it was. Some students must move on to college, some students must find a path to professional success via different means, but learning and self-improvement must never stop at high school or college for that matter.

All students may not go to college. But all students should be educated in a way that they have the OPPORTUNITY should they choose to do the work to go to college. If college is not a path they want to take, then we must prepare them for other career opportunities.

I think students should be able to make this decisions by the time they have completed 2 years of high school. They should be able to choose to continue on a college prep route or select a career path route. Auto tech, cosmetology, plumbing and culinary arts are traditional programs, but there are many opportunities to expand these programs to include training for these "green" revolution jobs that should be our new focus.

The goal is to give young people OPTIONS and POSSIBILITIES and college is but just one of them.

I am not surprised by the survey results and being an oddball most of the time I was in the minority. Here's why. I don't see that a full college degree is necessary but the question did not ask that. I believe that all students would benefit by taking at least a course or two. There are so many offerings to choose from. The student will have a new perspective on all the people they meet in their lives. My mother still holds college grads to a higher level of expectation because she carries a bias. She was always envious of their achievement. Taking a few courses will even make the mechanic (who needs a good technical school) look at his customers on more even footing without worrying about appearing stupid or unimportant. It's all about having reasonable self esteem.

I know that in the hiring I do for working with schools in afterschool programs that there is little consideration for those without a college degree. Further, I find that when adults get into the positions below those of a BA holder, they remain in those lower positions for the rest of their careers. Some readers will think 'Duh - of course.' My problem is that in too many cases, I don't find those students who did NOT get the degree to be less intelligent than many that did - but it is certainly true that they are less prepared to do more challenging work, they are then less often challenged in the work they do, and they never rise to the potential they might have had. College is a rigorous training, but not THAT rigorous. There are truly few jobs these days that don't require a rigorous training. Unfortunately, when we allow students to find lesser alternatives, they often end up with lesser opportunities for a lifetime. I'm much more inclined to counsel students to keep as a focus the completion of a BA, although they might need to start at the community college level, and it might not be until their 30's that they can complete the BA. But since lives are long, that BA then opens doors that truly are not open otherwise. With a BA, they can CHOOSE to become an electrician, but are more likely to manage a shop, build a small business and otherwise achieve their potential. Our average life span will soon reach the 80's and 90's. Students need to see many paths in a long life to eventually reach a college degree that 1) demonstrates to themselves and all future employers their ability to reach challenging long-term goals 2) provides them the critical thinking skills an adult in this millennium will need 3) pushes them to develop learning strategies that we will each need for a lifetime of career changes.

I know lots of people who went to college who are now unemployed or unsuccessful. I know plenty of people who didn't go to college, but entered a trade, went to trade school, or went into other careers. They are doing great and are very successful. We need trades people (electricians, plumbers, mechanics, etc.).

A college degree does not always equal knowledge or experience either. How many people do you know with advanced degrees who are clueless about real life, real issues, and how to actually get things done?

College is a great thing for many people. For others it is not.

Many students should enter the work force and grow up a bit before trying college out. They will be more successful that way.

College is not for every student. Many students are not ready for college or mature enough right out of high school. Others want to go into a trade, and we need trades like electricians, plumbers, carpenters, technicians, and mechanics. We need EMT's, computer technicians, and medical technicians. They all require training after high school, but not a full 4-year college.

College does not always equal success - look at all the college graduates who are out of work and look at the non-college graduates who are doing very well.

I think we should be preparing students to be successful in different areas by teaching them communications, problem solving, and how to learn on their own. We also need to help them identify a career pathway.

College is not for everyone and we are hurting many of our students by not preparing them for other avenues of success.