We describe alignment between high school career and technical education (CTE) and local labor markets across five states--Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Tennessee, and Washington. We find that CTE is partially aligned with local labor markets. A 10-percentage-point higher share of local jobs related to a CTE career cluster is associated with a…

The High School Graduation Plan (HSBP) is a graduation requirement and a critical component of supporting students' career development throughout their secondary education experience. The Washington Legislature has revised and strengthened HSBP requirements to include the implementation of a universal online HSBP platform that can be readily…

Districts across the country are facing severe shortages of teachers--especially in certain subjects (math, science, special education, career and technical education, and bilingual education) and in specific schools (urban, rural, high-poverty, high-minority, and low-achieving). The severity of the teacher shortage problem varies significantly by…

The guided pathways approach to community and technical college redesign has significant impacts for adult basic education (ABE). The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and Ability to Benefit provide federal support that complements the work being done in Guided Pathways. Washington state's approach to implementing guided pathways…

The past decade has seen a resurgence of interest in career and technical education (CTE) as a way to engage students, help people build the skills necessary to succeed in a technologically advanced economy, and meet employer demand for workers. MDRC--which has a two-decade history of developing and evaluating CTE programs, including their…

Background: Inclusive STEM (traditionally known to stand for "Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math") high schools are emerging across the country as a mechanism for improving STEM education and getting more and diverse students into STEM majors and careers. However, there is no consensus on what these schools are or should be,…

The Summer Youth Forestry Institute (SYFI) was developed to inspire youth through experiential learning opportunities and early work experience in the field of natural resources. Declining enrollments in forestry and other natural resource careers has made it necessary to actively engage youth and provide them with exposure to careers in these…

We investigated the effects of our Bio-ITEST teacher professional development model and bioinformatics curricula on cognitive traits (awareness, engagement, self-efficacy, and relevance) in high school teachers and students that are known to accompany a developing interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. The…

The "Fall Enrollment and Staffing Report 2014" provides a snapshot of enrollments in community and technical colleges during fall quarter 2014. The report addresses the questions most commonly raised regarding the community and technical colleges in Washington. The primary source of information for this document is the State Board for…

For students with disabilities, the opportunity to work in a supportive environment is one that can bring them, and their employers, great rewards. This article describes a program that started more than a decade ago at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, which is giving students just that kind of opportunity through innovative…

Annually, ACT provides a snapshot of the college and career readiness of ACT-tested high school graduates. This report is offered as a service to inform policymakers and practitioners about selected indicators of effectiveness and how that translates into readiness. It is designed to stimulate discussion, inquiry, and action. This report for the…

The "Fall Enrollment and Staffing Report 2013" provides a snapshot of enrollments in community and technical colleges during fall quarter 2013. The report addresses the questions most commonly raised regarding the community and technical colleges in Washington. The primary source of information for this document is the State Board for…