The Crisis of Student Disengagement
College Board CEO David Coleman describes today’s educational landscape as a “dangerous moment” where high school students increasingly question the value of traditional learning paths. “The biggest fact of the American high school is that our kids are more and more disconnected than ever before from the whole enterprise of pursuing their future,” Coleman told Fortune. He observes a troubling pattern: elementary students accept what they’re given, middle schoolers grow suspicious, and by high school, many have completely checked out.
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This disengagement threatens to worsen in the age of artificial intelligence, fostering a “why bother?” mentality among students. Coleman isn’t alone in his concerns—top CEOs including Ford’s Jim Farley report having similar conversations at home, with students questioning the necessity of college education altogether.
A Bold Collaboration Emerges
The turning point came in late 2024 when Coleman received a call from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In meetings with Chamber CEO Suzanne Clark and Chief Policy Officer Neil Bradley, both organizations realized they were confronting the same problem from different angles. “We quickly realized we were trying to solve the same problem from different sides,” Bradley explained to Fortune.
This recognition sparked what Coleman describes as a “far bolder move” in educational reform. By early 2025, the organizations had developed a comprehensive vision during meetings at the College Board’s New York offices. The collaboration expanded rapidly, with spring meetings in DC involving nearly 100 state and local Chamber CEOs, culminating in a nationwide initiative addressing educational gaps and workforce readiness.
AP Business with Personal Finance: A New Solution
The centerpiece of this collaboration is AP Business with Personal Finance, launching this fall. This innovative course represents a fundamental shift in educational approach, with mastery directly recognized by thousands of employers and leading to employment or advanced study opportunities. Nearly 300 employers—including Aon, IBM, Nissan, SnapIT Solutions, and Wells Fargo—have endorsed the program, along with 75 local chambers of commerce across more than 40 states.
Coleman emphasizes the course’s broad relevance: “We’re really saying this is something of value to almost all kids, that it’s a different thing, that we’ve got to stop it with a few kids getting the good stuff.” His ambitious goal? To eliminate the “fundamental division between career education and general education” that he describes as both “cruel” and “really dumb” in how it separates students.
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The Employer Perspective: Addressing Talent Shortages
From the Chamber’s viewpoint, this initiative addresses critical workforce challenges. “We hear from business leaders all the time—they cannot find the talent,” remarked Chamber President and CEO Suzanne Clark. The course aims to prepare students for “day one of their first job” while helping them view enterprise as a source of opportunity and growth.
Bradley notes that Chamber members have long expressed frustration about young workers’ lack of readiness, a problem exacerbated by technological change and AI advancements. The issue extends beyond traditional business careers—tradespeople from welders to electricians often aspire to run their own businesses and need business acumen as much as future accountants or MBAs.
Meeting Student Needs in a Changing Economy
Coleman observes that today’s students are “hungry for this” type of practical education, showing particular interest in business because “they want to make money and thrive.” He notes their realism about economic realities and interest in steady blue-collar, middle-class jobs like healthcare and nursing.
The timing coincides with significant industry developments affecting global markets and employment patterns. Bradley adds that employers are “grappling with the different ways that people want to work and are willing to work,” particularly as organizations navigate post-COVID hybrid work environments.
Broader Economic Context
The initiative arrives amid concerning data about workforce readiness and economic perceptions. The Chamber’s 2025 New Hire Readiness Report reveals that 84% of hiring managers believe today’s high school graduates are unprepared for the workforce, with 80% saying young hires are less prepared than their predecessors.
Meanwhile, a Gallup poll shows only 54% of Americans now hold a positive view of capitalism—the lowest on record. The American Job Quality Study found 60% of U.S. workers are not in “quality jobs,” contributing to wider societal dissatisfaction. These challenges are occurring alongside significant related innovations in technology and workplace systems.
Building on Existing Initiatives
The new AP course builds on separate Chamber initiatives, including the Grow with CO platform established five to six years ago, which offers free online advice about starting, running, and growing businesses. Bradley emphasizes the importance of foundational business knowledge: “You can have the best idea in the world, but you’ve still got to understand how to form your business, how to understand what your profit and loss are.”
This educational approach comes as financial institutions and market trends continue to evolve in response to technological changes. The collaboration represents a significant step in addressing what Bradley calls the “different ways that people want to work” in the modern economy.
A New Educational Pathway
The new AP Business course represents a fundamental rethinking of how education prepares students for economic participation. By offering both college credit and real employability, the course aims to ignite engagement among students seeking autonomy and economic power.
With approximately one-third of high school graduates not pursuing higher education, the program addresses the realistic expectation that high school should prepare students for employment—something Bradley notes “is just not true in a lot of places today.” As Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell recently commented, entry-level hiring remains challenging in what he described as a “low-hiring, low-firing” environment.
This innovative partnership between education and business leaders represents a significant step toward bridging the gap between classroom learning and real-world success, offering students tangible pathways to economic participation in an increasingly complex job market.
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