Northern Kentucky education, business and community leaders are working to strengthen the pipeline from high school graduation into the workforce and higher education, despite that being a rather difficult statistic to accurately measure.
The “Fall Convening” of the Northern Kentucky Education Council brought together education, business and community partners in Boone, Kenton, Campbell, Grant, Gallatin, Owen and Pendleton counties to discuss that topic at an Oct. 27 meeting.
Though Northern Kentucky high schools recorded big increases in “postsecondary readiness,” a state metric that measures the number of seniors who, in addition to a diploma, demonstrate another layer of readiness to work or continue education after high school, there’s a knowledge gap in understanding whether students actually pursue those options.
The state’s postsecondary readiness measurement includes things like passing college admission exams, obtaining dual credit hours or industry-recognized certifications, licensures or credentials and more.
The conversation focused on the gap between postsecondary readiness rates and where those students end up after high school.
Kentucky’s postsecondary readiness rate for the 2025-26 school year was 85.5%.
However, available data measuring outcomes after high school looks only at students who went to college, both in Kentucky and elsewhere — 53.3% in 2024 — according to data from the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education.
The 53.3% figure does not account for students who enter the workforce, Northern Kentucky Education Council Executive Director Randy Poe told LINK nky.
“What is the problem if 83% of our students are postsecondary ready and only 53% are going (on to higher education). What is the problem? Do we have a problem?” asked Dr. Fernando Figueroa, chancellor of Gateway Community & Technical College, a local institution offering postsecondary opportunities.
Multiple attendees said it’s important to better measure what the other 30% of students might be doing instead of pursuing higher education in the commonwealth.
Figueroa led the group’s discussion on ways to better measure that data and catalyze postsecondary readiness into jobs or higher education. He asked the group to identify the purpose of K-12 education and what employers look for.
Event attendees described the importance of getting family buy-in for students’ postsecondary opportunities. The group also identified wanting a “transition system” for students to help them realize those options.
At the end of the discussion, NKYCE Board Chair Joe Buerkley, superintendent of Pendleton County Schools, thanked the group for discussing the uncomfortable unknown.
“It’s okay if we don’t have all the answers, it’s the discussions, the process where we grow and that’s what makes us better for tomorrow and it makes us great for the future,” Buerkley said.
