Giving Compass' Take:
- Jill Barshay examines the results of a report tracking 6,000 students from Delaware after their high school graduation to ascertain if career pathways function as intended.
- What can funders do to help create career pathways that help youth better understand the career options and steps available to them?
- Search for a nonprofit focused on career development.
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Career “pathways” have become a big idea in high school reform. The goal is to give all students a structured sequence of courses in a career field, along with early exposure to the workplace and opportunities to build practical, job-related skills.
Many aspects of these programs are similar to the curriculums at traditional vocational schools. But this newer incarnation simultaneously aims to make the vocational high school more college oriented and the comprehensive high school more career oriented.
Are the millions of dollars invested in these programs actually helping students get a head start on college and careers.
That question can’t be fully answered yet. But a new research report from Delaware — a national leader in the pathways movement — offers some early clues.
The state launched career pathways in 2014. Today, about 70 percent of high school students, or 30,000 teenagers, are enrolled, according to the nonprofit Rodel, which works with Delaware policymakers to reform education and improve the state’s workforce.
Ideally, students take a sequence of three or more courses in fields like healthcare, construction or education. Many also earn early college credits or make significant progress toward industry certifications, and some participate in internships or apprenticeships.
Researchers at RTI International, a nonprofit research organization, tracked more than 6,000 graduates who had completed at least two courses in a career field and surveyed them to see what they were doing in the years immediately after high school.
Three-quarters of the students surveyed were enrolled in college or another postsecondary training program after graduation, which is higher than the national average of 63 percent. But fewer than half were still studying or working in the field they had chosen in high school.
For example, among students who completed a pathway in architecture and construction, fewer than 20 percent pursued construction-related majors. Many shifted instead to fields like science and engineering (40 percent), business (8 percent) or healthcare (6 percent).
Read the full article about career pathways by Jill Barshay at The Hechinger Report.