A new report proposes academic pathways that would lead some students toward careers rather than college, and that is raising fears among advocates for the disadvantaged. Leaders of the "Pathways to Prosperity" project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education argue for an education system that clearly articulates students' career options as early as middle school and defines the coursework and training required, so young people can chart an informed course toward work, whether as an electrician or a college professor. Harvard scholars argue in the new report that by concentrating too much on classroom-based academics with four-year college as a goal, the nation's education system has failed vast numbers of students, who instead need solid preparation for careers requiring less than a bachelor's degree. The report arrives as experts are trying to define what skills are necessary for work and for higher learning. The Harvard study also drew notice because it was driven in part by the concerns of one of its co-authors, Robert B. Schwartz, a champion of higher academic expectations for all students, who said he began to doubt the wisdom of a "college for all" approach to education. Another co-author, Ronald Ferguson, the director of Harvard's Achievement Gap Initiative, is a national expert on improving learning opportunities for disadvantaged children.