Helping Students Prepare for Successful Careers

Helping students develop the skills, knowledge, and habits they need to prepare for postsecondary programs, jobs, and ultimately, successful careers is a critical challenge for today’s educators. Mathematica has conducted a variety of studies examining issues and initiatives related to career-focused education.

Assessing the Efficacy of Career and Technical Education Programs

High school career and technical education (CTE) programs are increasingly seeking to help students prepare for both jobs and some form of postsecondary education. For the National Assessment of Vocational Education, Mathematica assessed the efficacy of CTE programs in reducing dropout rates and improving students' postsecondary outcomes, including their postsecondary educational attainment and earnings. We also analyzed student participation in CTE programs and the factors that predict students' decisions to participate.

Mathematica staff conducted a random assignment evaluation of the Roads to Success program, which was designed to help forge connections between students' school experiences and their aspirations for adulthood, as an ongoing part of the middle and high school program. The results are available here.

Infusing Academics into Career and Technical Education

Policymakers, advocates, and educators have been working to enhance CTE programs in high schools by integrating technical and academic instruction. The U.S. Department of Education contracted with Mathematica to help select and support curriculum developers as they infused more opportunities to apply math skills into their CTE curricula. We also summarized the lessons learned from this effort and developed study design options for assessing the impact of these curricula on students' math and technical skills.

Organizing Programs Around Skill Standards

With federal support, some industry associations have developed standards to help educators and students identify the skills needed to be successful in certain careers. In addition, some industries have developed certification programs for those who acquire specific skills. Our researchers examined efforts to implement national skill standards, finding that success hinges in large part on the availability of appropriate instructional materials and local employers' familiarity with the standards. Skill standards and certification tests have figured prominently in recent efforts to improve schools' information technology classes. We completed the first national study of high school and college information technology skill certification programs.

Identifying Issues Posed By Students' Postsecondary Transitions

Clarifying students' educational problems and needs is an important part of developing career-focused programs. We have examined postsecondary transitions to identify the career-related challenges students confront as they leave high school. We also looked at their use of specific types of career-focused high school experiences after they graduate.

Evaluating Other Efforts to Enhance Career-Focused Programs

Mathematica has conducted many other evaluations of efforts to enhance schools' career-focused programs. Our tech-prep study evaluated career-focused programs that offer opportunities to earn college credits during high school. We also conducted the National Evaluation of School-to-Work Implementation, which assessed states' and local partnerships' progress in expanding and improving a wide array of career-focused programs and learning activities.