The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) requires states to reserve at least 15 percent of their total State Vocational Rehabilitation Services program funds to provide pre-employment transition services to help students with disabilities transition from school to work. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to review…

Every student at Wheeling High School takes a full academic courseload. Many of the graduates of this 2,000-student school in Wheeling, Illinois, however, also emerge with significant experience in a career field. Those interested in health careers, for example, can work with student-athletes in the school's athletic training facility, earn a…

The Postsecondary Pathways for Former Foster Care Youth (PP-FFCY) study is a research project that focuses on the transitions of foster care alumni to and through postsecondary institutions. Through the Office of Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL), the PP-FFCY project team is conducting a comprehensive needs assessment report that:…

Focusing on the Developmental Mathematics program installed by McHenry County College (MCC), this case study examines an integrative approach to reducing student dependency on developmental math. Facing the challenge of bridging the gap between K-12 and college readiness, MCC established a summer bridge program to help alleviate summer brain drain…

The Common Core State Standards present the greatest opportunity in decades to improve the quality of education afforded to all students. Uniformly raising standards across the majority of states and increasing the rigor of assessments sets an ambitious bar of college and career readiness for all students. Furthermore, assessing students against…

Vocational rehabilitation (VR) professionals are critical partners in the transition process for students with disabilities; therefore, they are required to develop transition service delivery proficiencies. VR professional perceptions of transition competencies are seldom examined due to the perception that transition falls mainly on school-based…

This report summarizes major findings and recommendations of the Illinois Career Development Task Force. The first section provides background information on Task Force formation, membership, meetings, and discussion topics. The second section defines career development, based on the consensus-building process employed by the Task Force, and…

Almost 7 million young Americans (age 16-24) are insufficiently attached to school or work. Based on conservative estimates, we can generate over $1 billion just by helping a mere 0.1 percent earn a high school credential and complete their first year of college through Back on Track Designs. This brief lays out the cost of setting up these GED-…

According to Sears (1982), career development is "the total constellation of economic, sociological, psychological, educational, physical, and chance factors that combine to shape one's career." This definition was advanced by the Illinois Career Development Task Force that engaged in more than a year of deliberation. Career development…

This report provides a summary of major results of the Illinois Bridge Status Survey, administered online between April and June 2010. The purpose of the survey was to understand the extent to which bridge programs are being implemented in Illinois, as well as to build an online directory of bridge programs. Bridge programs are an emerging…

In 2007, the Illinois General Assembly passed Public Act 0950694, "The College and Career Readiness Pilot Act", in an effort to reduce remediation within Illinois' community colleges. An important objective of this legislation was to better prepare students to be successful in transitioning from high school to college. According to the…

Increasing rates of remediation in college and the alignment gap between secondary and postsecondary education call for further study of policies and practices to improve college and career readiness. This issue of Update on Research and Leadership features nine articles that highlight current research and practice related to college readiness and…

The REAL Camp-NIU Experience established at Northern Illinois University serves as a model to afford high school students an experience in science- and mathematics-related careers. The participants' perceptions of the college-based camp curriculum were very favorable, as were the perceptions from preservice teachers and practicing teachers…

Many educators consider the final year of high school to be a "vast wasteland," an epidemic of disengagement. Although high schools across the country have struggled with senioritis, responses to the problem have largely fallen into vertical acceleration, in which schools typically offer an array of AP courses or dual enrollment…

This document is intended to help practitioners plan and implement activities for observance of Career Development Month in Illinois. Part 1 examines the following topics: the definitions of career development and education-to-careers; the rationale for devoting a month to career development; a career framework; and suggested Career Development…