Jobs for the Future (JFF) is developing this state policy framework to outline the steps states can take toward fully adopting each of the Big Blur's four key components and creating a more effective system for grades 11-14. The Big Blur argues for the need to erase the arbitrary boundaries between high school, college, and careers and create one…

The current U.S. secondary education, postsecondary education, and workforce training systems are failing to serve the needs of many of today's students. Securing a good job with a family-sustaining wage increasingly requires workers to possess industry certifications, degrees, and credentials, but U.S. education systems are not set up to help…

This quantitative ex post facto study investigated the effects of career academies on academic achievement and college readiness. A total of 1,206 12th-grade participants (196 career academy and 1,010 nonacademy students) were used in this study. These participants came from six high schools located in one large urban school district. Each of the…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of elective participation in one of three implementation year Career Academies, Education, Entrepreneurship, or Finance, on upper-class high school academic grades, Grade Point Average, and school academy participation measures. Significance of the junior and senior year of high school, the…