Transition: High School to Career

This report provides information on transition services for students with disabilities as they moved toward postsecondary pathways. Four federal agencies, the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Labor, and the Social Security Administration all provide transition services, but these efforts are not well-coordinated around a common goal.

This article presents a four-year case study on the impact that an urban college preparatory charter high school had on the postsecondary outcomes of its graduates. Through analysis of staff and teacher interviews, the impact that logistical constraints and staff turnover had on the implementation of the school’s mission to prepare educationally and socially disadvantaged students for college was revealed.

This study uses a national sample of students in sixth and ninth grade to determine how students perceive the utility of schooling for career development. Students demonstrated little awareness of the relationship between work and school, skills and knowledge required of them and learning opportunities at their disposal. In addition, students found extracurricular activities to be more important to their future careers than academic activities.

This study examines the impact of a career workshop which uses the Cognitive Information Processing Approach, which looks at the role of the three stages of memory, in order to promote the career choice readiness of young adolescents. Findings showed that middle school students increased their career planning, career decidedness, and career exploration.

Through examination of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 and its transcript component, vocational education is analyzed for a group of youth. Career and technical education (CTE) courses taken and participation in career-related programs of courses and activities are described. The findings revealed that the majority of American high school students participate in CTE courses and work-related activities, which hold true across demographic subgroups as well.

This resource from Achieve discusses the results of research by Peter D. Hart Research Associates and Public Opinion Strategies on public high school graduates from the classes of 2002, 2003, and 2004. The results found that many graduates cite gaps in preparation, college instructors/employers confirm graduates’ lack of preparation, few employers feel high school graduates prepared for advancement, and graduates who faced high expectations were twice as likely to feel prepared, among others.

This policy brief describes programs and initiatives from different states and districts that have been implemented to retain students, lower dropout rates, and help provide students with life skills to make them successful through and after high school. The authors start with a discussion of how to determine the parameters of graduation policy, i.e., identifying which courses students should be required to take and anchoring courses in standards that are aligned with college and career expectations.

This paper illustrates the advantages of career and technical education in high schools in order to retain students and provide those students that are not college bound the skills needed to be successful after graduation. The authors provide recommendations on how federal resources can support a systemic approach to knowledge and skill development for all youth. These recommendations provide policymakers ideas on how federal and state policies can support a greater role for CTE in high school reform.

In this webinar, presenters Larry McClenny, Superintendent, Patton Springs ISD, Kristina Baca, Superintendent, Loving Municipal Schools, and John White, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Rural Outreach, U.S. Department of Education discuss how rural schools are preparing students with the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful in college and in jobs by creating learning opportunities through dual enrollment and career and technical education. The panelists discussed the challenges and successes of collaborating with partners such as community colleges and local businesses.

This report is divided into five parts that present national forecasts of educational demand from 2008 through 2018 and provide economic context for the findings. These estimates are grounded in occupational and industry forecasts based on a macroeconomic model that generates a cohesive economic outlook for the economy over the next decade. The report demonstrates that projecting education and job requirements is technically feasible with a minimum amount of error.