Work-based learning interventions, particularly cooperative education, are a viable way to support the post-high school transition process, enhance work-related cognitive development, and increase the occupational engagement of at-risk youth. Using propensity score matching to analyze data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002…

A pretest-posttest control group experimental design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of EnvisionIT, a 10-unit web-based curriculum designed to teach secondary students information technology (IT) skills in the context of transition-planning activities. Fifteen high schools were stratified by socioeconomic status and randomly assigned to the…

This paper describes a small-scale research project undertaken in July 2007, which focused on a group of students with a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) currently attending a mainstream secondary school. Three focus groups were held with students in Years 9 and 11 and with their parents in order to explore current practice on…

This article describes the process that youth in a large residential out-of-home care program complete as they prepare for the transition into adulthood. This process is geared toward preparing these young people through a series of structured real-life activities and lessons. Results from a separate 5-year follow-up study indicate that those who…

Recent literature debates the effectiveness of the senior year, stating that it is an unproductive and unrealistic time for many students--either because they are, by that point in their school careers, disengaged and waiting to graduate, or because they are so stressed from taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams and writing college essays that they…

The transition into high school is a critical point in the educational pipeline, and ninth-grade can be characterized as one of its leakiest junctures. This policy brief examines how some states and districts are currently easing the transition into high school for students. It focuses on five key challenges that states, districts and schools…

After-school or out-of-school programs offer additional social, academic, and extracurricular activities and experiences to supplement the regular school day. College preparation programs offer activities that are designed to enable youth to prepare for a variety of college-related tasks, with services including test preparation, academic…

Opportunities to earn college credit in high school, once limited to a few programs available only to a small percentage of students, have grown dramatically over the last decade. More and more states are adopting policies designed to create a wider array of opportunities--for a broader range of students--to get a head start on college. These…

Reforms funded by the School-to-Work Opportunities Act (STWOA) were enacted to help USA students learn career-related skills and prepare for entry into careers or post-secondary education. Information about the effectiveness of these reforms is critical to address students' career preparation needs and inform future policy. Yet few quantitative…