This Special Report outlines state-level policy components that help ensure work-based learning opportunities for high school students are well-coordinated, broadly accessible, aligned to state or regional workforce demands, and of high quality.

Far too often, today's college students find themselves wandering through their academic experiences, choosing from a dizzying array of majors, courses, and out-of-classroom learning experiences. And while this smorgasbord of options is often portrayed as beneficial to the student experience, more than a decade of research suggests that too many…