Evaluations of the effectiveness of government programs may serve both to improve program implementation and to convey to policymakers information on the effectiveness of these programs. However, the evidence generated from programs and their providers--perhaps especially when these programs are decentralized and implemented and run locally--may…

The 1994 federal School-to-Work Opportunities Act (STWOA) provided more than $1.5 billion over 5 years to support increased career preparation activities in the country's public schools. A new longitudinal data source with rich information on school-to-career (STC) programs--the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97)--provides…

The School-to-Work Opportunities Act, which was designed to improve student learning, in-school retention, and transition to the workplace, requires the restructuring of secondary education and the extensive involvement of business in preparing youth for the workplace. School-to-work initiatives reflect the conditions of the settings and contexts…

California has numerous niche programs stressing both academic rigor and career connections. These occur most successfully where business and elected officials support K-12 partnerships and provide job-shadowing opportunities, internships, and classroom instruction offered by business partners. A sidebar outlines school-to-work principles. (MLH)

These two newsletter issues of the National Transition Alliance (NTA) for Youth with Disabilities present articles concerning the transition of youth with disabilities from school-to-work (STW) and related informational items. The first issue contains the following articles: "Bringing a Complicated System into Harmony" (focus on the…

A literature review of 132 studies of School-to-Work programs and consultations with the staff of the National School-to-Work Office, researchers, and practitioners in the field drew conclusions about the effectiveness of the School-to-Work initiative. Some of the study's conclusions were the following: (1) School-to-Work students maintain good…

Federal funding from the School to Work Opportunities Act (STOWA) has ended. There is no doubt that state policy to advance activities started under STOWA will be a major factor in the sustainability of School to Work. Already some states have taken the initiative for bringing higher standards to education by offering incentives for businesses to…

Eight tech prep consortia located across the United States were studied to assess their tech prep implementation and outcomes. Special attention was paid to the consortia's use of and success with the following tech prep components: formal articulation agreements; core curriculum; rigorous instruction emphasizing integration of academic and…