Ready for Tomorrow: Helping All Students Achieve Secondary and Postsecondary Success

States have a powerful incentive to plug the leaks in the education pipeline. To be competitive and create the conditions for strong economic growth, states need to help all their residents increase their skills and be prepared to pursue postsecondary learning opportunities. Carnevale estimates that if states expand college access among African Americans, Hispanics, and non-Hispanic whites, “the resultant earnings improvements would certainly narrow income differences and could add as much as $230 billion in national wealth and $80 billion in new tax revenues every year.” This policy guide aims to point out some higher education policy frameworks and help governors and their key policy advisors to develop and implement innovative solutions to challenges facing states.