Giving Compass' Take:

• Our advancing society is making many unpredictable changes that result in uncertainty about the future. Here, Getting Smart analyzes a guide from the XQ Institute for state policymakers which discusses high school and the future of work.

• What is the best way to prepare students for the changing workforce? How can policymakers increase flexibility for teachers to use modern learning methods? 

• Learn how nonprofit organizations are designing a career pipeline to fit tomorrow's jobs. 

As the future of work continues to increase in uncertainty, and as the change we see in the world continues to accelerate, many of us will agree that it can feel as though our education system is struggling to maintain an at-best-moderate pace of adapting to the world around it.

There are numerous reasons for this, including but not limited to: the challenge of identifying ways to develop systems of accountability around the sometimes-nebulous traits, skills and dispositions that the future workforce will demand; a lack of adequate resources to develop high-quality career-ready high schools; and even the challenge of getting traditional schools and districts on board with the types of nuts-and-bolts changes required to provide student-centered learning. Unfortunately, the results of this lack of progress can be seen across the spectrum of post-secondary readiness surveys.

These are the challenges the XQ Institute seeks to address in their new report, released September 10 and titled High School & the Future of Work: A Guide for State Policymakers. The guide argues that, to prepare students for an uncertain and technology-driven future, state policymakers should be looking for ways to increase flexibility for those seeking to provide students with learning experiences that are more competency-based, more project-based, and more attached to the real world. It focuses on providing strategies for how they can do so equitably.

Read the full article about education, state policy and the future of work at Getting Smart.