Education reform is always a hot-button issue, but more so in an election year. The topic was front and center of President Obama’s recent State of the Union address.

His plans included making higher education more affordable by forcing colleges to hold costs in check or lose federal dollars.

Interestingly, his approach provides more stick than carrot and assumes something that might just be flawed logic. His assumption is that a traditional college education is not just a privilege for a few, but is a prerequisite for all.

As much as we’d love it if that were true, the fact is that many, many smart young men and women do not find college a good fit, even when money isn’t the issue.

A Harvard Graduate School report recently showed America has the highest college dropout rate of any industrialized nation.

Alarmingly, despite our nation’s Herculean efforts in the past few years to push college onto everyone, only 40 percent of all 27-year-olds in America attain an associate’s degree or higher.

That means 60 percent are stumbling into the job market ill equipped to be productive workers and ever have a shot at realizing the American Dream.

Rather than continuing to work hard to put the round, square and triangular pegs through the same circular hole, wouldn’t we be smarter to rethink our focus?

Other developed nations use programs that provide high school students with career path options to learn marketable skills that do not require college degrees.

Education is important, but creating well-equipped Americans to help build our country and their own livelihoods may be more important.