Dr. Erin Bibo Public Testimony Before the Committee of the Whole
April 5, 2023
Good afternoon Chairman Mendelson and Committee Members. My name is Erin Bibo, and I am Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at CityWorks DC, a nonprofit organization focused on ensuring that DC’s youth of color are better prepared for, hired into, and succeeding in the District’s good jobs. I’m also a Ward 6 resident and parent of three DCPS students.
I am here today to express support for the city’s continued investments in the Advanced Internship Program and Advanced Technical Center, and its new investments in the Education to Employment Data System and Teacher Apprenticeship Program.
Last month, I testified before this Committee to share why high-quality work-based learning opportunities like the Advanced Internship Program and Advanced Technical Center are so important for our youth. From our research in partnership with CityBridge Education and Bain & Company, we’ve learned that DC youth who participate in high-quality work-based learning opportunities have significantly higher incomes, and are more likely to report feeling financially stable, fulfilled in their career, and optimistic about the future than their peers1. An investment in these programs is an investment in our youth’s future, and we are happy to see them retained in the budget.
We are also excited about the city’s new program that will utilize apprenticeship2 as a pathway to teaching. At CityWorks DC, we see apprenticeship - whether you start in high school or afterwards - as an incredible opportunity to pursue both college and career, build skills, confidence, and the professional networks needed to thrive in our local economy, while also earning an income.
Finally, we are so pleased to see the city’s proposal to establish an Education to Employment data system. The DC government has made significant investments in K-12, higher ed, and workforce opportunities for our residents, and it closely examines the short-term outcomes of those programs. That said, we currently have very little information about whether residents who participate in these education and workforce opportunities end up employed or earning enough to support themselves and a family in the District - I’m not OK with that, and I know you aren’t either.
According to the DC Policy Center’s “Measuring Early Career Outcomes” Report3, the best available information indicates that the majority of D.C.’s public school alumni do not complete a postsecondary degree, and that those who stay in the city as young adults earn about half the income of their peers who moved to the city. Because we want to close these significant equity and outcomes gaps, we need early career outcomes data to best inform practices and investments to support current students and future graduates on a path to success. The Education to Employment data system will provide us with that information. It will shine a light on which programs and investments best prepare our residents for careers. It will allow us to publicly track progress. And in the long term, it will include resident and employer-facing resources that contribute to more DC residents getting good jobs in our economy.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I’m happy to answer any questions.
REFERENCED RESEARCH
D.C. Policy Center Education Policy Initiative
Measuring early career outcomes in D.C.
Chelsea Coffin & Julie Rubin | November 17, 2021
D.C.’s public and public charter schools serving students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12 strive to prepare students to succeed as young adults through college and in the workplace. While the city monitors key outcomes such as high school graduation rates and enrollment in postsecondary degree programs, we know very little about the early career outcomes for D.C.’s public school alumni. Tracking early career outcomes of D.C.’s former public school students is difficult, especially given D.C.’s small geographic area, dispersed alumni population, and small public postsecondary system compared to other states–but understanding more about District graduates’ experiences in early career could inform practices and investments to support current students and future graduates on a path to success.
Measuring early career outcomes in D.C. presents a blueprint of how the District can collect the critical information needed to determine the early career outcomes of former public school students, and the ways that others undertake this difficult task.
Read the full report: dc policycenter.org/publications/measuring-outcomes
What are early career outcomes?
Early career outcomes refer to the employment, income, and educational attainment (including degrees, certificates, and credentials) of D.C.’s former public and public charter school students and graduates during their twenties and thirties.
Today, the best proxy for early career outcomes for D.C.’s alumni is information about young adults (ages 18 to 34) who were born and live in D.C.:
● 1 in 4 young adults born and living in D.C. has completed a postsecondary degree (which is required by 58% of jobs).
● Their average annual income is $31,658, half that of their peers who are living in D.C. but were born elsewhere.
While improving data on early career outcomes would require commitment and resources, it is important because it can:
● Pinpoint what types of opportunities students have after K-12 and postsecondary education and workforce training.
● Expose the barriers that exist in the labor market, postsecondary attainment, or other training completion for former public school students to achieve successful early career outcomes.
● Change practices across public schools, postsecondary, and workforce development programs to maximize future success for D.C.’s youth.
What are other jurisdictions doing to collect early career outcomes information?
Creating strong linkages to local data
● Statewide longitudinal data systems link high school student and alumni information from education agencies with outcomes data from in-state postsecondary networks and workforce agencies, including wage data reported for unemployment insurance administration.
Using surveys to ask alumni about outcomes
● Schools or national organizations reach out to alumni via phone or email surveys for information on income, educational attainment, and qualitative information about their career and school experiences.
Connecting to national and interstate data sources
● Researchers link to external data to find out what happens to alumni after they leave a school system, usually using National Student Clearinghouse, unemployment insurance data exchanges, and federal data sources, among others.
What is D.C. doing now to collect information on early career outcomes?
● D.C. has a lot of citywide data on the PK-12 experience. D.C.’s statewide longitudinal database system (SLDS) has a strong base of information on student characteristics, the school experience, and college and career readiness.
● High schools have some information on postsecondary outcomes for their alumni, mostly from the National Student Clearinghouse. DCPS Persists and KIPP Forward are examples of schools that follow and support alumni using data from the National Student Clearinghouse and administering their own surveys.
● Workforce data is challenging for high schools and postsecondary institutions to find and track. While some high schools survey alumni about their employment and income, unemployment insurance wage data in D.C. and elsewhere would provide more accurate and comprehensive information.
Considerations for D.C. to build out its early career outcomes tracking system
1. Establish guiding principles for tracking early career outcomes in D.C.: Identify desired outcomes and engage with stakeholders to evaluate the need for this information. 2. Make stronger connections between local and national data sources: Link data between D.C. agencies, and then connect to national data sources (such as National Student Clearinghouse or national unemployment insurance data exchanges).
3. Determine ownership and governance for an education workforce data system: Consider creating a separate entity to track data with data sharing agreements.
4. Build capacity among practitioners in K-12, postsecondary, and workforce programs to use data: Hold trainings for educators and administrators on how to use data and conduct citywide analyses.
5. Plan for continuous improvements: Connect to regional partners such as Maryland or Virginia, or conduct an alumni survey to learn qualitative information on former students’ experiences.
D.C. high school alumni reflections on their early career outcomes Emilia Calma | November 10, 2021
Despite the considerable number of unfilled jobs coming to the Washington region every year, young D.C. residents, particularly young people of color, do not have access to career pathways designed to support them from education to secure employment. We believe that employers have uniquely powerful levers to influence racial equity through talent development, starting with how they engage with the education and workforce systems and including their own talent acquisition and development practices. Our vision is that provided with the right infrastructure and support, employers will be able to hire more DC residents into the region’s many good jobs as a business decision advanced by their Human Resources departments—not only out of a sense of corporate social responsibility.
This publication is the second of two in partnership with the Federal City Council and CityWorks DC that will explore the creation of a local talent pipeline in the District of Columbia that prepares youth for high-wage, high-demand jobs in the region by enabling District employers to actively engage in the education and training of the District’s youth.
Read the first publication, The case for creating a local talent pipeline in the District of Columbia.
Introduction
Data exist on D.C.’s public and public charter school students’ high school graduation rates and student’s enrollment in postsecondary education six months after graduation. But beyond that six-month mark, in terms of publicly available data the picture goes dark: there is very little qualitative or quantitative information on early career outcomes for the District’s young adults.[1] Detailed information on early career outcomes for former D.C. students is critical for policymakers, school officials, and employers to better design programs and understand what supports and services are necessary to help young adults succeed.
A recent survey asked a group of young adults that went to high school in D.C. about their early career outcomes, providing information that could be used as a starting point toward gathering more information on how D.C.’s high school students fare in their early careers. This survey, conducted by CityWorks DC and Bain & Company, reached 1,199 D.C. alumni of public, public charter schools, and adult charter schools.
Early career outcomes refer to information about the employment, income, and educational attainment (including degrees, certificates, and credentials) of D.C.’s former public and public charter school students and graduates. Ideally, information on early career outcomes would be available for D.C.’s young adults for their first professional experiences in addition to their twenties and thirties as they progress in their careers.
Career assets are the set of tools, skills, experiences, and competencies that an individual has acquired or has access to, that help them successfully navigate the workforce. Activities that help individuals acquire career assets include a variety of skill-building opportunities such as volunteer positions, work experience, apprenticeships, internships, exposure to career options, career counseling, mentorship, and postsecondary planning. In this brief, students were considered to have acquired career assets if they participated in multiple activities that had a statistically significant impact on outcomes for their particular educational pathway.
While alumni who completed a postsecondary program had better early career outcomes in terms of employment and average earnings than alumni with high school credentials alone, there is a wide range of incomes for all degree levels. Variation in incomes is highly correlated to engagement in career assets. Across all degree types, alumni who acquired career assets[2] through activities and experiences including work-based learning like internships and apprenticeships, career exposure, career counseling, and employer connections, had significantly better outcomes in terms of annual wages and feelings of financial stability, job fulfillment, and optimism about the future.
Population surveyed
CityWorks DC and Bain & Company[3] conducted a survey of 1,199 D.C. public, public charter, and adult charter school alumni aged 19 to 33.[4] Respondents were predominantly young adults aged 24 to 28 who graduated high school between 2010 to 2015 (62 percent of respondents).[5] In addition, 95 percent of the alumni sampled were high school graduates, approximately 60 percent had completed a postsecondary program (bachelor’s, associate’s, credential, or certificate), approximately 12 percent went straight from high school to the workforce, and around 25 percent of respondents were currently enrolled in an apprenticeship, degree program, or credential.
The alumni were 75 percent Black and 56 percent female, similar to D.C. public and public charter high school demographics.[6] Additionally, alumni surveyed came from a variety of economic backgrounds, and at the time of survey, 46 percent had one or more dependents.
The survey tracked several data points for early career outcomes including full-time and part-time employment, education status, employed industry and role, qualifications for that role, and post-tax yearly income. Additionally, the survey asked questions on multiple qualitative aspects of the alumni’s early career experiences, including self-reported financial stability, job fulfillment, and optimism about the future.
Respondents were asked their perceptions of success, financial stability, and future outlook
Hearing directly from young adults in the District about their experiences can provide a plethora of information about current job opportunities, what needs to be done in schools to prepare youth for the job market, and what wages are needed for residents to thrive and be able to live in the District.
Survey respondents were asked about their perceptions of financial stability, job fulfillment, and future outlook. On the topic of financial stability, alumni were asked whether they were comfortable with their current financial situation, whether they had issues paying their rent or
mortgage on time, and whether they could cover an unexpected $400 bill. Alumni making more than $36,000 per year post-tax were more likely to report feeling more financially stable, making $36,000 the threshold for perceived financial stability in this analysis.[7]
Alumni were also asked whether they were proud of their job, felt motivated to work, if their personal values aligned with their employers, and whether they felt safe, included, and happy at their job. In addition, alumni self-reported whether they had opportunities to learn and develop at their job. Key findings from the survey are below.
Bachelor’s degree holders are more likely to be employed and earn higher incomes, but incomes varied significantly across all groups
Among survey respondents, alumni with bachelor’s degrees were more likely to be employed than alumni who had not completed a bachelor’s degree. 89 percent of alumni with bachelor’s degrees reported being employed (as compared to 76 percent of alumni without a bachelor’s degree), with the most common industries including education, business, and engineering. Of unemployed alumni (across all degree types), approximately a third of respondents reported being let go because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of unemployed alumni were currently enrolled in a post-secondary degree or training program.
On average, alumni with bachelor’s degrees earned more than other groups, but every group of alumni, at all levels of educational attainment, earned a wide range of incomes. The majority of alumni with a bachelor’s degree earned between $30,000 and $60,000 post-tax, with an average post-tax income of $39,000 (the equivalent of $21/hour or $44,000 per year pre-tax). In comparison, alumni with associate’s degrees or credentials earned an average of $32,000 post-tax, and those who went straight to work earned an average post-tax income of $28,000.[8]
Part of the issue is degree requirements: of the top-high demand, high-wage jobs in D.C., over 60 percent required a bachelor’s degree.[9] However, only an estimated 14 percent of D.C.’s high school students completed a postsecondary degree within six years of high school graduation, limiting employment options.[10] In addition to postsecondary degree requirements, employers often require multiple years of job experience and certifications, requirements that create additional barriers for District residents hoping to attain high paying jobs.
Career assets significantly positively affected alumni earnings and employment for all degree types
Young adults who acquired career assets through activities and experiences such as work-based learning (i.e. internships and apprenticeships), career exposure, career counseling, and employer connections, had, on average, improved outcomes. This held true for all education levels, but particularly for alumni with associate’s degrees and certificates. There were some characteristics of the programs and experiences that alumni undertook that statistically significantly improved their outcomes. These program characteristics that improved outcomes for alumni included being rigorous, having connections to employers, work experience, career exposure, and career counseling. Additionally, strong academic performance, majors aligned with career choice, and a major in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) all correlated with improved outcomes.[11]
Alumni who completed associate’s degree and certification programs did not on average make as much as students who had bachelor’s degrees ($32,000 post-tax per year on average and $39,000 post-tax per year on average, respectively). However, students with associate’s degrees and certifications who acquired career assets (25 percent of respondents) had
earnings outcomes on par with alumni who had bachelor’s degrees. Alumni with associate’s degrees and certifications who acquired career assets made 64 percent more on average ($25,000 post-tax per year) than their peers who did not acquire career assets ($41,000 post-tax per year). While acquiring career assets was particularly effective for alumni with associate’s degrees and certifications, acquiring career assets improved outcomes for all students by approximately 10 percent (including students with bachelor’s degrees, and students with no postsecondary education).[12]
Career assets are particularly important for low-income and first generation students. First generation graduates are less likely to get jobs post-college than their better-coached and
-connected classmates. In addition, they are more likely than their peers to accept job offers more quickly, make less money, and take jobs for which they are overqualified (including jobs that do not require a degree). In large part, this is because first generation students are more likely to commute or work full-time while in college, and are thus less likely to have completed internships, studied abroad, or taken advantage of career counseling services, all of which have been shown to improve job prospects. For example, graduates who had internships were 90 percent more likely to get job offers than graduates who didn’t.[13]
Early career outcomes must be tracked
Understanding early career outcomes for the District’s young adults can illuminate what kinds of jobs and incomes D.C. public school students can expect to receive, show policy makers what barriers exist in the current labor market, expose what experiences create competitive advantages, and reveal what practices need to be changed or enhanced to help students succeed in their early careers. Unfortunately, there are currently few ways in which we can track early career outcomes, and data is often limited to a small share of students.
Results from this survey revealed that acquiring career assets in high school[14] and postsecondary significantly and positively improved early career outcomes for District alumni. Students who acquired career assets through opportunities and experiences such as
apprenticeships, internships, exposure to career options, mentorship, and other services had higher incomes on average than their peers without such assets, and were more likely to report feeling financially stable, fulfilled in their career, and optimistic about the future. Survey data reveal several opportunities to improve opportunities for District youth, including increasing access to and robustness of programs and activities that let students acquire career assets at all levels of education. As career assets were shown to boost average earnings by up to 64 percent, educational institutions and training programs should consider how best to integrate career exposure and work-based learning into their programs.
Gathering data directly from young adults adds an important dimension in understanding early career outcomes, especially regarding perceptions of financial stability, optimism, and success. This data can be seen as a starting point as the District looks to gather more information about
the early career outcomes of District youth. While useful, this survey captured a small percentage of D.C.’s former public school students. In the future, creating a comprehensive tracking system to monitor degrees, credentials, and certificates earned, occupation, income, employment status, and other metrics, can be used to monitor progress, inform practices and programming, as well as illuminate inequities.
Editor’s note: This piece has been updated to clarify that it is publicly-available data that is largely unavailable after 6 months post-graduation.