Hi Everyone,

Thanks, Jackie, for highlighting last week's article! Instruction and
retention for younger students has been a topic of much interest lately.
This week's article is another one from the Youth issue of FOB (Vol.
7A), in which John Tyler looks at cognitive skills needed as learners
enter the workforce.

Skills Matter in the Types of Jobs Young Dropouts Will First Hold
by John Tyler
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=124

Do basic cognitive skills matter for the least educated? They may not,
if computerization of the workplace has "deskilled" the types of jobs in
which young dropouts are first employed. This is, therefore, an
empirical question that has received little attention and less
systematic research. The ideal way to examine this question would be to
begin with a pool of school dropouts, randomly assign individuals in
this pool different levels of cognitive skills, and then follow them
into the labor market to see if those with higher levels of cognitive
skills were employed more and earned more than those with lower skill
levels. To approximate this situation in a recent research study, I used
data on General Educational Development (GED) candidates who attempted
the GED exams in Florida between 1995 and 1998, when all were 16 to 18
years of age.

All the best,
Julie



Julie McKinney
Discussion List Moderator
World Education/NCSALL
jmckinney at worlded.org