The Urban Career Education Center (UCEC) is an alternative experimental high school for students classified as potential dropouts. It began operating in 1972 founded on the premise that the real goal of a worthwhile education should be the preparation of students for a productive and satisfying life in their chosen careers. The UCEC model includes close interaction with and utilization of educational, industrial, business, and other community resources to insure that students gain the proper tools for acquiring marketable career skills. The program is divided into three phases. The major thrust of Phase 1 is orienting students to UCEC, diagnosing student strengths and potential problems in academic and personal areas, and exposing students to a variety of career information. Phase 2 includes basic classroom instructional activities and career exploratory ("hands-on") field experiences. Phase 3 deals primarily with advanced or specialized experiences for students in their career interests. From an analysis of student records it was concluded that while most of these students were low achievers at their former schools, they showed a high level of academic and personal growth at UCEC. (TA)