This document summarizes major postsecondary education issues and school-to-work and youth employment programs for the Education Task Force of the U.S. Senates's Committee on the Budget, and is based on General Accounting Office (GAO) studies completed during 1990-1997. The discussion of postsecondary education issues centers around five themes: ensuring access, increasing retention, improving quality, increasing affordability, and improving financial aid program management and oversight. It is noted that while postsecondary education is important to students' future earning power, the cost of attending college is rising rapidly. In addition, some federal programs designed to help educationally and economically disadvantaged youth enter, stay in, and complete postsecondary education have had limited effectiveness. Also identified are some of the financial management and oversight problems, along with congressional and agency actions taken to address these problems. Programs to help noncollege-bound youth obtain alternative work skills also have not lived up to expectations, and there is a discussion of the Job Training Partnership Act youth programs and the Job Corps programs. Appended is a list of related GAO documents. (SW)