The chronic scarcity of career jobs and increased demands for mental ability in the workplace have necessitated school-to-work (STW) transition programs that prepare noncollege-bound youths not only for their first full-time job but also for continued learning and career transitions throughout their working lives. Among the main ideas advanced for…

After more than three decades of development and two decades of evaluation, career academies have been found to be effective in improving the performance of students in high school, particularly for students at greatest risk. Career academies have become the most durable and best-tested component of a high school reform strategy that includes…