Comprehensive high schools have developed into systems serving the high-achieving, college-bound students and the students who need remediation in basic skills, with little attention being paid to the large number of students who fall between these two levels. Little attention is paid to educating students for midlevel jobs that require more…

The United States has no coherent strategy for helping noncollege-bound students develop the competence for middle-level jobs. The need for more emphasis on the needs of noncollege-bound students became apparent during the 1980s as less-educated workers began encountering more wage and employment difficulties and as occupations requiring…