The future workforce can’t wait: Why states must redefine student success now

Right now, schools teach to the test. Students learn what’s tested. Employers hire graduates who have the credentials, yet those new workers stumble when faced with the complex, ambiguous problems that define modern work. That measurement mismatch leaves students underprepared, teachers undervalued, and employers under-resourced.

Some states and school districts are already acting. Kentucky, New York and North Carolina have adopted durable-skills frameworks, “Portrait of a Graduate,” which define student success in broader, more meaningful ways. These community-driven visions emphasize competencies like critical thinking, collaboration, and adaptability alongside academic foundations.

Business leaders aren’t waiting — companies like Bank of America, Google and Walmart are adopting skills-based hiring, opening doors to talent long shut out by degree requirements.

This redefinition must include making durable skills like communication, critical thinking, and collaboration visible, teachable, and assessable within state learning standards. It also requires treating AI fluency as a foundational literacy — integrated across subjects, not siloed — so that students graduate ready to engage with emerging technologies critically and ethically.

By Sari Factor