Pathways

Stackable credentials are industry-recognized credentials attained through certificate or other non-degree programs that articulate toward a higher level certificate or associates degree in the same job-related area. This policy scan, conducted by the National Skills Coalition, highlights nineteen states with stackable credential policies in place.   

This brief profiles Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ efforts to establish career pathway systems for its students. These efforts focus on providing students with coursework that builds their competencies in core academic and career areas, and provides opportunities to earn postsecondary and workforce credentials. Key features of the district’s career pathway systems include early career exploration, strong partnerships with postsecondary and workforce institutions, and emphasis on college and career in school curriculum and culture.

Popular conceptions of college and career readiness are growing beyond strictly academic competencies such as literacy and numeracy. New thinking on the many dimensions of preparedness has produced volumes of research and scores of new products, making the process for educators and employers to focus on the readiness paradigms that suit their needs very difficult. This paper attempts to clarify the readiness landscape.

As postsecondary credentials have become increasingly important for accessing higher quality employment, a growing number of education and workforce programs are implementing career pathways approaches to help both youth and adults prepare for further education and better jobs. In recent years, MDRC has conducted research on a range of career pathways programs and their components.

This policy brief states that a student’s first steps toward college attendance begins with the student’s awareness of college and career options. However, in order to make students aware of postsecondary opportunities, state boards must first enhance their college readiness standards with college awareness initiatives. To that end, this brief provides two examples of initiatives in Oregon and Idaho that have done just that.

This resource provides an overview of evidence-based practices and structures that promote pathways to postsecondary opportunities for vulnerable youth (particularly those in the juvenile justice system) in Connecticut. This resource also describes common barriers to success that vulnerable youth in this state encounter. The study that informed the findings and recommendations presented in this resource was conducted by the American Youth Policy Forum in collaboration with the C.S. Mott Foundation and the Tow Foundation.