Ohio Excels recently released its 2025 Reality Check report, one of those annual reports I eagerly wait upon and inhale as soon as it’s available. (If you are just learning about Ohio Excels, it’s a non-profit founded in 2018 by Ohio business leaders to help improve and transform Ohio’s education system to better prepare students for success.) The report reflects Ohio Excel’s commitment to elevating system-level indicators to drive policy, advocacy and outcomes across the state.
5 takeaways I consider important:
1) Ohio, as of October 2025, has over 86,000 jobs open which pay more than $50K annual salary. There is demand for people to fill well-paying jobs!
2) 3 (or 4?) of Ohio’s top 10 fastest growing jobs that pay a salary of $50K or more require only a high school degree or certificate: tractor-trailer driver, industrial machinery mechanic, and farmer/agricultural manager. There’s another one too – Registered Nurse – which is labeled as requiring a bachelor’s degree (but requires at least an Associate’s degree and passing the nursing certifications.) Well-paying jobs are in reach for Ohio students!
3) We need to have more Ohioans with higher levels of skill and knowledge to fill expected jobs in 2031 (6 yrs) . Of all the jobs forecasted to exist in Ohio in 2031, 32% of them will require certifications/some college or an Associate’s degree, which is very similar to the number in 2018 who graduated with these certifications (30%). But 34% of them will require a Bachelor’s or more, and in 2018, only 27% of Ohioans received those degrees.
4) Career tech education is underused in our state. Just under 20% of students in grades 7-12 participate in career tech (CTE) education, which is much under the percentage of jobs (see #3 above) which will require at least some advanced skill beyond high school. We have a very strong CTE system across Ohio but having more opportunities for students in their home high schools would undoubtedly increase this participation rate.
5) One way to offset the cost of post-secondary skills training and education is through College Credit Plus. On a positive note, enrollment continues to grow, with almost one third of students in the class of 2024 earning some higher education credit while in high school.
There’s much more to learn and consider in this year’s report, which you can find here.