This brief estimates the impact of a statewide implementation of Opportunity Culture models, using North Carolina as an example. Impacts estimated include student learning outcomes, gross state product, teacher pay, and other career characteristics, and state income tax revenue. Estimates indicate the potential for a statewide transition to…

This was a study about the New Century Scholarship (NCS) program offered to Utah high school students at commencement for earning an Associate of Arts (AA) degree by the time they graduate from high school. An Associate of Arts degree is earning 60 college credits toward a specific AA program. The goal of the NCS program was to assist students to…

As global demands for workers in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields persist, there are increased opportunities for historically underrepresented African-American and Latino youth to fill STEM career pipelines. African-American and Latino youth have long faced disproportionately high unemployment rates. Joblessness has been…

In today's uncertain economy, states and regions are experiencing myriad workforce challenges. In the short run, layoffs and unemployment resulting from the current economic downturn dictate an immediate need for education and training to prepare workers for key occupations. In the long run, states and regions continue to exist in a global economy…

Career clusters represent a nationwide effort to help learners obtain the knowledge and skills they need for career success, mobility and advancement by aligning what is taught in the classroom to business and industry expectations. In this article, the authors, education department officials from Nebraska, Virginia, and Alabama, outline the…

To promote and assist the development of quality state and local occupational education programs, and to help assure accountability of federal and state funds allocated to local programs, the Illinois Division of Vocational and Technical Education launched a 3-phase evaluation study of its existing system. Visitations were made to 71 Local…

Drawing upon career education leaders and specialists as sources, the authors explore the status of career education by discussing definitions, program dimensions, roles of career education, program evaluation, and recommendations for the State of Mississippi. The most common definitions of career education focus on five aspects: (1) career…

As a federally funded year-long exemplary project, Hawaii's first Occupational Information and Guidance Service Center aimed to effect a closer relationship among schools, industry, and government in order to increase vocational awareness in students. Resource materials for school counselors and agencies involved in youth employment were…

A three-part evaluation plan is presented for the occupational clusters approach to career orientation project, which attempted to design and field-test a two-semester curriculum package for orienting junior high students to the world of work. Project effectiveness will be estimated at three points in its development. In the laboratory setting…

In 1988, the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations commissioned an outside evaluation of the School Career Development Pilot Program initiated in 1985. The evaluator's major responsibilities were to assess the operation of the 15 pilot programs, and to make recommendations about the future of the Career Development Program (CDP).…

This second annual color keyed evaluation report describes 17 State goals for vocational education, presents criterion questions for each goal, identifies quantitative evidence, analyzes data to measure the extent of attainment of the objectives, and develops recommendations. Written as an evaluation system for a State project to aid vocational…

In order to meet the primary goal of providing students in the public elementary and secondary schools of Mississippi with a career-centered curriculum, these objectives were developed: (1) to develop and integrate career education activities into the curriculum; (2) to include guidance, placement, and follow-up programs; (3) to provide students…

The experiences of stakeholders in Wisconsin's youth apprenticeship programs are used to provide insights for other policy-makers and educators contemplating or currently implementing youth apprenticeship programs. In-depth interviews, focus group interviews, and surveys with more than 100 students, parents, employers, and instructors were used to…

This report details the progress and activities during fiscal year 1976 of five projects designed by the Maryland State Board for Community Colleges to further improve the quality of postsecondary occupational education in Maryland community colleges. Project I was designed to improve articulation of occupational programs at the secondary and…

Highlights of a career education program for the elementary grades in New Jersey, entitled Technology for Children (T4C), are presented separately for the years 1969, 1970, and 1971. A systems approach was utilized to integrate this comprehensive program into New Jersey schools, focusing on its urban areas. Preliminary program planning and…