K–16 Educational Pipeline

The K–16 educational pipeline denotes the path taken by students from kindergarten to completion of their baccalaureate degree. Historically, policymakers have looked simply at the K–12 pipeline when examining the educational trajectory of different population groups. Today, however, growing numbers of students of color do not attend college, while at the same time, a college degree is frequently needed to obtain jobs that pay a living wage. In light of these developments, the concept of a K–16 pipeline has become a more useful and complex idea. By using the metaphor of a pipeline, educational scholars are able to find the ways in which students flow toward the goal of a college degree as well as the places in which “leaks” or “blocks” occur, causing certain ...