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There is no doubt we should celebrate the recent news that Indiana’s 2024 high school graduation rate of 90.2% is the highest in a decade. This achievement is a testament to the hard work of students and educators statewide.
However, I remain deeply concerned about how prepared Hoosier students are for what comes after high school. Only 24.1% of Indiana’s high school juniors who took the SAT in 2024 met the national benchmark for college readiness in reading/writing and math. This means that 3/4 of the students who took the exam are not prepared to succeed in college.
It’s not surprising then that only about 40% of Hoosier high schoolers graduate from high school and successfully earn a college degree. We know that, by 2031, more than 70% of jobs will require some form of education or training after high school. The time has come for Indiana to build a new education and training pathway for high school students that acts as a complement to the existing high school-to-college pathway and can better support students who do not want, or are not ready, to attend college.
In December, the Indiana State Board of Education—led by Secretary of Education Katie Jenner—unanimously approved a legislatively required proposal to update high school graduation requirements for high school students. Among several changes, the new Indiana high school diploma enables far greater flexibility for students to pursue work-based learning during high school. Every school must fulfill the requirements beginning with the class of 2029.
These high school diploma changes will be transformational for Hoosier students. My ardent support of work-based learning—specifically, an employer-led professional pathway rooted in youth apprenticeship experiences—will be no surprise to frequent readers of this column.
Critically, youth apprenticeships introduce students to careers and provide an alternative for those who learn better with the addition of hands-on instruction to existing classroom-based learning. They can also act as a springboard for students to pursue further education after their apprenticeship, whether in college or through additional professional training.
To create a new employer-led education and training pathway that offers these types of opportunities for Hoosiers, I am honored to co-chair CEMETS iLab Indiana alongside First Internet Bank Chair and CEO David Becker. iLab Indiana is a coalition of more than 200 Hoosier leaders working to scale youth apprenticeships statewide. If built as intended, youth apprenticeships will serve as the underpinning of a new professional education and training pathway that complements the existing high school-to-college pathway.
For a high school student to complete an apprenticeship as part of the new pathway, the student must spend at least 50% of their time during their junior and senior years at the employer site. This kind of flexibility was not easily accessible under our state’s previous graduation requirements but is entirely possible now.
These new requirements represent an exciting sea change in the way our state prepares young people for life after high school. By giving students more flexibility to decide what’s the right way for them to learn as they prepare for their futures, we are opening
new doors for thousands of Hoosiers.
All students and adult learners should have access to high-quality education and training options that enable them to discover their passions, reach their fullest potential, and meaningfully contribute to the economic and civic vitality of their communities. Learn more at IndianaCareerApprenticeshipPathway.org.•
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Fiddian-Green is president and CEO of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, whose mission is to advance the vitality of Indianapolis and the well-being of its people. Send comments to ibjedit@ibj.com.
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