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Transition Out of High School

High School Standards for Transitions Out | Dual Enrollment and Advanced Placement | Early College High Schools | Career and Technology Education | Research on this Topic PDF

StudentsTransition Out of High School: The transition from high school into the collegiate or workforce environments is also a key turning point in the lives of young people. The vast majority of jobs in today's economy require education attainment and technical skills. Regardless of their career or academic path after high school, young people must be knowledgeable and informed about the world in which they live and have the capacity to grapple with complex problems in order to maximize their professional and personal success. Students who enter the workforce immediately upon high school graduation now need at least the same level of skills and knowledge as students entering college, as both universities and employers seek the same core abilities.1


High School Standards for Transitions Out

Our ProductEvaluating the Impact of Interventions That Promote Successful Transitions from High School
This research brief examines the challenges and opportunities presented in evaluating whether an intervention achieves defined goals of increasing students’ educational attainment, employment, and earnings after high school. (August 2008)

Our ProductPreparing High School Students for Successful Transitions to Postsecondary Education and Employment
This issue brief highlights lessons from selected policies and programs designed to improve students’ preparation for postsecondary pathways. The publication summarizes core characteristics of popular interventions in a user-friendly chart, poses overarching implementation questions and challenges, and includes considerations for students with disabilities. (August 2008)

Our ProductStriking the Balance: Career Academies Combine Academic Rigor and Workplace Relevance
This snapshot takes a closer look at the implementation of the Career Academy model, an innovative approach to infuse life relevancy and critical thinking skills into the academic curriculum, in a high school in Oakland, California. Painting a picture of one high school's experience, the resource documents the mechanics of the program, how it prepares students for college, and the challenges encountered along the way. (August 2008)

Our ProductTransitioning Out of High School: A Quick Stats Fact Sheet
This fact sheet provides statistics describing the current status of high school graduates' readiness for life after high school. It highlights some of the challenges and opportunities facing high school students after graduation as well as some of the consequences and implications for America’s underprepared graduates. (October 2007)

Our Product2008 National High School Center Summer Institute Breakout on Transitions Out of High School
This session highlighted the current research base on key transition points in high school and effective practices and resources to assist with these critical steps for all students.

Aligned Expectations? A Closer Look at College Admissions and Placement Tests
This report by Achieve, Inc. strives to help inform state decision-making regarding the inclusion of college admissions (ACT, SAT) and placement tests (ACCUPLACER, COMPASS) into their high school assessment and accountability systems. 

High School Standards and Expectations for College and the Workplace
This report compares existing state standards for what students should know and be able to do in English language arts and mathematics with expectations common to two national studies on skills needed for entry to college and the workplace. The report was produced by the Regional Education Laboratory at Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning.

The Link between High School Reform and College Access and Success for Low-Income and Minority Youth
An extensive, methodical resource from the American Youth Policy Forum and Pathways to College Network which describes comprehensive school reform models designed to increase college access for low-income and minority youth.

Preparing All Students for Postsecondary Success
Even as educators and legislators ramp up the next round of education reform, federal data show that some 80 percent of low-income students are not leaving high school ready for life in the workplace or on the college campus. This report issues a wide-ranging set of recommendations that called on decision-makers to step up alignment of graduation requirements with what colleges and employers say they want.

 

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1 "Who's In, Who's Out: America's Sorting Machine." 1 December 2005. WETA. 2004.