Strengthening Transitions by Encouraging Career Pathways: A Look at State Policies and Practices

There is now common agreement that all youth need
some education beyond high school to be economically
self-sufficient. However, persisting in college
and earning a credential is difficult for many students
(see Bailey, Alfonso, Scott, & Leinbach, in
press; Deil-Amen & Rosenbaum, 2002; National
Center for Education Statistics, 2004).1

In attempting
to help students gain access to and be successful
in postsecondary education, whichever type of
degree or credential they seek, policymakers and
practitioners increasingly speak of the need to
improve the transition between secondary and
postsecondary studies. Whether the call is for a
“seamless web” (Hodgkinson, 1999), a “more robust
set of pathways” (Schwartz, 2004), or “a new commitment
to a single system” of education (National
Commission on the High School Senior Year, 2001),
the common element is tying together the curricula,
requirements, and assessments of the secondary and
postsecondary sectors.

Through the creation of P–16 (preschool through
postsecondary) commissions in 30 states (National
Governors’ Association, n.d.), attention is being paid
to the continuum of education in which students
engage. Rather than viewing each step in isolation,
the goal is to reconceptualize education as a pathway
spanning high schools, colleges, and workplaces.
Policymakers expect that connecting formerly
separate facets of the education system will facilitate
students’ transitions into college and careers. In
addition, policymakers have sought reforms that will
better prepare students for postsecondary education.
Such reforms include adopting more stringent high
school graduation requirements and graduation exit
exams and increasing the availability of rigorous
programs such as advanced placement and dual
enrollment.

A career pathway is a coherent, articulated sequence
of rigorous academic and career courses, commencing
in the ninth grade and leading to an associate degree,
an industry-recognized certificate or licensure, or a
baccalaureate degree and beyond.

Full Report: http://www.aacc.nche.edu/Content/ContentGroups/Headline_News/February_2006/9287_AACCvisualreport.pdf