Students preparing for college and careers need access to career-focused programs of study that combine challenging academic content and intellectually demanding career/technical (CT) studies. Schools wanting to raise student achievement can create career-focused programs of study that connect a solid academic core with a sequence of CT courses.…

Schools are finding effective ways to engage students totally in learning by addressing students' minds, personalities and behaviors. They are designing curricula and instructional strategies to generate interest and challenge students to stay in school and do their best. The goal is to graduate a "complete student" who will be ready for…

Schools that give students access to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) studies are accomplishing several objectives: introducing students to higher-level academic and career studies, expanding project-based learning in the curriculum, enticing students to remain in school until graduation, and preparing students for…

Schools are implementing new and effective strategies in an effort to graduate 90 percent of students and to ensure that graduates are prepared to succeed in college, advanced training and work. This newsletter describes how schools have redesigned their schedules, organizational structures and cultures in an effort to graduate 90 percent of…

"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Beyond Auto Shop 1: Is Career and Technical Education a Promising Path for High School Reform? (Lucy Hood); (2) The School Readiness Gap:…

Work-based education (WBE), including traditional vocational education and other career-focused programs, was an important curricular component in American schools for most of the 20th century. The 1990s was a period of substantial change for work-based education (WBE). Spurred on by a concern about the international competitiveness of the…