Toward the Big Blur: Momentum and Progress in Colorado

JFF spotlights a few of the most promising Big Blur-adjacent policies, as well as bills under consideration in the 2023 legislative sessions.

Jobs for the Future’s (JFF) vision for the Big Blur calls for entirely new educational institutions and systems to better prepare 16-to-20-year-olds for college and careers. This paper examines the new type of governance needed to help states create more effective grade 11-14 schools and systems.

A fifth year of high school can enable students to earn an associate’s degree at no cost while beginning to blur the lines between high school, college, and career.

JFF’s vision for the Big Blur could be the future for community colleges if they work with high schools, dual enrollment students in community colleges, and employers to construct new grades 11-14 career preparation institutions.

This paper argues for a radical restructuring of education for grades 11–14—by erasing the arbitrary dividing line between high school and college—to open opportunities for the learners our current systems leave behind. We make the case for an entirely new type of institution—neither high school nor college—designed specifically to better meet the needs of young people after 10th grade and help prepare them to succeed in the world of work.

Policy redesign that puts people at the center and ensures informed choice-making.